)1916 


Moral  and  Spiritual  Aspects 
of  Baptism 

TOGETHER  WITH  AN  EXAMINATION  OF 
THE  NATURE  OF  FAITH  AND  ITS  REIvA- 
TION  TO  BAPTISM:  BEING  A  PHILO- 
SOPHICAIv  AND  SCRIPTURAIv  EXAMINA- 
TION OF  THE  CONDITIONS  OF  SAIvVA- 
TION    AS  PRESENTED    IN    THE    GOSPEI.. 


By  N.  J.  AYLSWORTH,  A.  M, 


CHRISTIAN  PUBIvISHING  COMPANY 
St.  IvOuis 


Copyright,  1902, 
By  Christian  Publishing  Company. 


TO  THE 

MANY   FRIENDS 

WHOSE  SYMPATHY  AND  DEVOTION  DURING 
MANY  YEARS  OF  II<I.NESS  HAVE  BEEN  TO 
ME  A  NEW  REVEI.ATION  OF  THE  MEANING 
OF  CHRISTIAN   BROTHERHOOD, 

I   DEDICATE  THIS   BOOK 
WITH 
SINCERE  GRATITUDE  AND  AFFECTION, 


PREFACE. 


Philosophy  has  always  exerted  a  powerful,  and 
often  a  distorting,  influence  on  religious  belief.  This 
has  been  strikingly  exemplified  in  the  history  of 
Christianity.  Although  the  Church  has  always  be- 
lieved herself  to  be  in  possession  of  an  inspired  and 
infallible  revelation  of  the  divine  will,  and  although 
this  revelation  was  delivered  in  the  plain,  simple  lan- 
guage of  the  people,  and  spoke  with  apparent  defi- 
niteness  and  clearness  on  most  subjects  relating  to 
duty  and  destiny,  views  the  most  divergent  have  been 
held  at  different  times  on  many  of  these  subjects,  and 
professedly  derived  from  the  Scriptures  themselves. 
A  singular  fact  in  the  history  of  religious  opinion  is 
that,  whenever  prevailing  habits  of  thought  have 
tended  to  diverge  in  any  respect  from  the  obvious 
meaning  of  Scripture  statements  on  any  subject,  the 
Scriptures,  although  believed  to  be  infallibly  true, 
have  not  been  able  to  arrest  the  tendency,  but,  while 
perhaps  modifying  it  to  some  extent,  have  themselves 
been  subjected  to  new  and  often  violent  interpreta- 
tions, to  bring  them  into  accord  with  the  prevailing 
view.  Strangely  enough,  such  methods  of  producing 
harmony  have  seemed  to  satisfy  many  noble  men,  and 
have  aroused  no  suspicion  that  the  new  view  was  not 
in  accord  with  Scripture  teaching.  One  result,  how- 
ever, which  seems  to  have  been  generally  overlooked, 
has  almost  invariably  followed — passages  thus  treated 
have  fallen  out  of  use ;  and  it  seems  not  to  have  been 


PREFACE 

seen  that  this  in  itself  was  a  strong  evidence  that  the 
new  view  was  not  Scriptural. 

What  has  been  true  of  so  many  other  subjects  has 
also  been  true  of  baptism.  There  is  probably  no  sub- 
ject in  the  entire  range  of  Christian  teaching  on 
which  the  New  Testament  speaks  with  more  definite- 
ness  and  clearness  than  on  the  design  of  Christian 
baptism ;  yet  almost  every  conceivable  view  has  been 
held  regarding  it,  from  that  which  attached  to  bap- 
tism a  magical  saving  power,  to  that  which  rejects  it 
altogether  as  worthless.  Most  Protestant  peoples  at 
the  present  time  are  placing  such  interpretations  on 
the  Scripture  statements  on  this  subject  as  seem  to 
them  to  accord  with  the  genius  of  Christianity  and  a 
true  spiritual  philosophy;  and  such  interpretations 
no  doubt  seem  satisfactory,  but  the  striking  fact  re- 
mains that  nearly  all  these  passages  have  been  thrown 
out  of  use  in  the  work  of  modern  evangelism.  Those 
answers  embracing  baptism  which  were  given  by  the 
apostles  to  inquirers  are  now  no  longer  given  to  those 
who  ask  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved — a  strange 
fact  which  calls  for  explanation.  Another  fact  which 
challenges  attention  is  that  the  interpretations  placed 
on  many  of  the  passages  of  Scripture  which  speak  of 
the  design  of  baptism  are  not  those  which  would 
occur  to  an  unsophisticated  reader. 

These  facts  give  warrant  for  serious  suspicion  that 
the  modern  view  so  widely  held  is  not  that  of  the  in- 
spired writers.  The  author  believes  that  it  is  not,  and 
that  both  the  spirit  of  Christianity  and  a  true  philos- 
ophy, moral  and  spiritual,  fully  justify  the  teachings 
of  the  New   Testament   on   the   design  of   baptism, 


PREFACE 

in  their  most  obvious  sense,  and  must  render  such 
answers  of  the  apostles  to  inquirers  as  speak  of  bap- 
tism both  acceptable  and  desirable  for  use  in  modern 
meetingc.  It  is  believed  that  baptism  was  not,  in  the 
primitive  church,  as  it  is  now  so  widely  regarded,  "a 
mere  outward  act,"  but  that  it  contained  spiritual 
elements,  human  and  divine,  which  abundantly  entitle 
it  to  the  position  manifestly  assigned  to  it  by  the 
language  of  the  Scriptures.  '*The  method  of  in- 
wardness," so  strongly  characteristic  of  modern 
thought,  includes  nothing  with  which  we  can  afford 
to  dispense;  but  it  has  diverted  attention  from 
some  weighty  truths  which  lie  outside  of  its  range, 
and  whose  recognition  is  necessary  to  reaching  the 
broad  sanity  of  Scripture  teaching,  and  securing  to 
the  gospel  its  highest  efficiency  in  the  conversion  of 
the  world. 

It  is  the  object  of  this  work  to  call  attention  to 
these  truths,  and  to  exhibit   them   in   their   relation 
to  the  entire  Scripture  teaching  on  the   subject  of. 
salvation. 

It  is  hoped  that  what  has  here  been  imperfectly 
done  may  stimulate  thought  in  a  wide  field  of  investi- 
gation, which  gives  promise  of  abundant  return. 

N.  J.  Aylsworth. 

Auburn,  N.  V. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK    I. 

MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF 
BAPTISM. 

PART  I. 

THE  MORAL  ASPECT  OF  BAPTISM. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Perpetuated  Sins 1 

§  1.     The  Nature  and  Moral  Bearings  of   Perpetuated 

Sins 1 

§  2.     Christ's  Teaching  on  the  Subject     ....  5 

§  3.  Some  Other  Forms  of  Perpetuated  Sin  ...  9 
§  4.     Did   the  Apostles   Ignore  this   Principle  in  their 

Work  of  Converting  Men? 14 

CHAPTER    II. 
The  REI.ATION  OF  Baptism  to  Perpetuated  Sins. 

§  1.     A  Perpetuated  Sin  of  a  General  Character,  and  the 

Means  of  Terminating  it 18 

§  2.     Baptism  as  a  Means  of  Profession   ....      24 


PART  II. 
SPIRITUAL  NATURE  AND  USES  OF  BAPTISM 

Division   I. 

Baptism  as  a  Spiritual  Act. 

chapter  i. 

Baptism  Answers  to  a  Need  oe  the  Heart  ...  36 
CHAPTER   II. 

Baptism  not  a  Mere  Outward  Act "^^ 

§  1.  The  Nature  of  a  Mere  Outward  Act  .  •  .43 
§  2.     A  Question  in  Philology "^^ 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  SpirituaIv  BI/Bment  in  Baptism. 

§  1.     The  Final  Spiritual  Step  in  Conversion  ...      48 
§  2.     The  Divinely  Appointed  Investiture  of  this  Spir- 
itual Step 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Consequences  of  Regarding  Baptism  as  a  Mere  Out- 
ward Act 56 

CHAPTER   V. 
The  Divine  Side  of  Baptism. 

§  1.     God's  Part  in  Baptism 62 

§  2.     The  lyarger  View 73 

Division  II. 
The  Value  of  Baptism  as  a  Stumbi.ing-Bi.ock. 

CHAPTER  I. 
§  1.     Nature  and  Uses  of  the  "Stumbling-Block"  .         .       81 
§  2.     Baptism  as  a  Stumbling-Block  ....       86 

CHAPTER  II. 
Cheapening  Baptism     . 91 

Division   III. 
Baptism  as  a  Measure  of  Faith,  and  as  a  Rati- 
fying Act. 
chapter  i. 

Baptism  a  Measure  of  the  Faith  of  Conversion    .        .      99 
§  1.     Salvation  is  by  Strong  Faith    .         .         .         .         .99 

§  2.     How  Strong  Must  Faith  Be? 104 

§  3.     The  True  Measure  of  Faith 105 

§  4.     The  Application  of  the  Measure      .         .         .         .107 

CHAPTER  II. 
Baptism  as  a  Ratifying  Act. 

§  1.     Nature  and  Uses  of  Ratification       ....     Ill 


CONTENTS 

§  2,    An  Act  of  the  Nature  of  Ratification  is  Needed  in 

the  Covenant  of  the  Soul  with  God    .         .         .118 

CHAPTER  III. 
Why  Baptism  Shoui^d  Bk  an  Antecedent  Condition  of 

Sai<vation 124 

§  1.  The  Degree  of  Power  which  We  Possess  in  Any 
Direction  is  not  a  Matter  of  Consciousness,  but 
of  Experimental  Discovery  ....     125 

§  2.     The  New-Born  Faith  of  the  Convert  is  Subject  to 

this  Law •         .         .     128 

§  3.    An   Objection:     What  will  Become  of  those  who 

Die  Before  Baptism? 135 

PART  III. 

The  PSYCH0I.0GY  OF  REMISSION 139 


BOOK    II. 

THE    NATURE   OF    JUSTIFYING   FAITH  AND 
ITS  RELATION  TO  BAPTISM. 

PART  L 
THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  EXAMINATION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory 159 

§  1.     Some  Preliminary  Considerations    ....  159 

§2.     One  of  the  Uses  of  the  Word  "Believe"        .         .  164- 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  Nature  of  Justifying  Faith        .      ' .        .        .        .169 

§  1.     Abraham's  Faith  was  Trust 169 

§  2.     The   Nature  of  the  Faith   that   is   Reckoned  for 

Righteousness       .......     173 

§  3.     Other  Conditions  Determining  the  Nature  of  this 

Faith 189 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III. 
Whers  Does  this  Spiritual  Act  Take  Pi.ace?        .        .    195 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Abraham's  Faith. 

§  1.     The  Nature  of  Abraham's  Faith  and  its  Correspon- 
dence with  Christian  Faith         ....     208 
§  2.     Difference  Between  Abraham's   Faith   and  Chris- 
tian Faith      226 

§  3.     Paul's  Estimate  of  this  Relation     ....     228 

PART  II. 

THE    SCRIPTURAL    EVIDENCE    REGARDING    THE 
NATURE  OF  FAITH  AND  ITS  RELA- 
TION TO  BAPTISM. 

CHAPTER  I. 
What  is  the  Spirituai,  Act  Denoted  by  "Faith"?  and 
Where  Does  it  Take  Pi.ace? 
§  1.     Faith  according  to  Christ,  according  to  John,  and 

according  to  Paul  ......     233 

§  2.     Paul  Places  this  Spiritual  Act  in  Baptism        .         .     245 
§  3.     Peter  Places  the  Same  Spiritual  Act  in  Baptism     .     260 

CHAPTER   II. 
Some  Side-IvIGhts. 

§  1.     The  Lord's   Supper.     The    Lord's    Day.     Sacred 

Song 267 

§  2.     Baptism  unto  Repentance         .....     273 

CHAPTER   III. 

Faith  During  the  Period  of  Christ's  Earthi^y  Min- 
istry       298 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Faith  During  the  Apostoi^ic  Age 308 

§  1.  Does  the  Commission  Teach  that  that  Personal 
Faith  in  Christ  which  Obtains  Salvation  Pre- 
cedes Baptism? 309 

xii 


CONTENTS 

§  2.  In  the  Apostolic  Age,  the  Personal  Faith  in  Christ 
which  Obtains  Salvation  does  not  Precede 
Baptism 319 

§  3.  The  Personal  Faith  in  Christ  that  Obtains  Salva- 
tion Embraces  Baptism 329 

CHAPTER  V. 

St.  Pauiv's  Conversion 347 

§  1.     A  Moral  Question      .......     351 

§  2.     The  Inner  History  of  Paul's  Conversion,  and  its 

Bearing  on  his  Doctrine 359 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Methods  of  ReconciIvIng  Paui^'s  Doctrine  of  Justifica- 
tion WITH  THE  vSTATEMENT  OF  PETER  IN  ACTS  Ii:  38  .      400 

§  1.     The  First  Method       .  402 

§  2.     The  Second  Method  407 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Morai,  Adjustment 424 


APPENDIX. 

.\.     AivEXANDER  Campbei<i<'s  Vievv  OF  Faith      .        .        .     441 

B.  Did  Saui,   Receive  the   H01.Y    Spirit  Before  or 

After  (in)  his  Baptism? 449 

C.  A  Discarded  Phraseoi^ogy   ..-,...    457 


General,  Index 463 

Index  of  Texts      .        . 469 

xiii 


BOOK  I. 

MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF 
BAPTISM 


PART  I 

THE   MORAL  ASPECT  OF  BAPTISM 


CHAPTER  I. 

PERPETUATED    SINS. 


Our  views  of  the  nature  of  an  evil  always  deter- 
mine our  conceptions  of  the  means  necessary  to  over- 
come it.  To  repel  the  attack  of  an  assassin  and  to 
repel  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever  require  vastly  differ- 
ent methods  of  resistance.  You  cannot  cure  cholera 
by  administering  the  remedies  for  a  common  cold. 
The  necessity  for  the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends  is 
so  manifest  that  it  is  universally  recognized,  and  un- 
consciously dominates  all  our  thinking.  This  is  true, 
not  only  of  matters  rehiting  to  the  physical  world,  but 
equally  so  of  those  in  the  moral  realm. 

Superficial  views  of  sin  always  cause  the  redemp- 
tion of  Christ  to  be  held  in  light  esteem;  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  is  replete  with  lessons  showing 
that  distorted  or  inadequate  ideas  regarding  the  nature 
of  sin  have  ever  reacted  upon  men's  views  of  the  gos- 
pel, causing  modifications  of  an  injurious  and  often 
of  a  disastrous  character. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  enter  ex- 
haustively into  the  discussion  of  the  nature  of  sin,  but 
to  call  attention  to  a  single  phase  of  the  subject  which 
is  at  present  too  much  disregarded. 

§i.  The  Nature  and  Moral  Bearings  of  Perpetu- 
ated Sins. 

There  is  a  class  of  sins  which,  in  view  of  a  certain 

1 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

characteristic,  may  be  properly  called  limited.  Their 
commission  is  confined  to  a  certain  definite  point  of 
time,  and  there  ceases. 

To  illustrate:  A  man  while  engaged  at  his  work  be- 
comes exasperated,  and  utters  a  profane  oath.  It  was 
not  premeditated,  and,  when  thinking  of  it  afterwards, 
he  does  not  approve  of  it.  On  provocation  he  may 
commit  the  same  sin  again,  but  it  is  clear  that  in  the 
interval  he  is  not  swearing.  His  heart  may  not  be 
right,  but  he  is  not  committing  this  particular  sin.  It 
is  true,  also,  that  the  guilt  of  the  sin  remains,  and 
will  continue  till  he  is  pardoned;  but  the  comm^5S^o?^ 
of  this  particular  sin  is  confined  to  a  certain  definite 
point  of  time,  and  it  may,  in  this  sense,  properly  be 
said  to  be  limited. 

If  the  man  repents,  it  is  plain  that  he  can  do  noth- 
ing to  undo  such  an  act.  It  has  gone  into  the  past, 
and  is  beyond  his  reach.  It  is  only  within  his  power 
to  feel  sorry  for  it,  and  resolve  that  it  shall  never  be 
repeated.  If  this  repentance  be  sincere,  and  he  con- 
fesses his  sin  to  Grod,  asking  forgiveness,  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  moral  reason  why  he  should  not  be  for- 
given. 

Were  all  sins  of  this  character,  it  would  be  safe  for 
us  to  conclude,  on  moral  grounds,  that  the  only  con- 
ditions of  the  divine  pardon  are  repentance,  involv- 
ing a  resolution  not  to  repeat  our  sins,  confession  to 
God,  and  prayer  for  his  forgiveness.  This  view  seems 
to  be  largely  prevalent  in  the  popular  conceptions  of 
sin  and  its  remission.  The  reasoning  is  not  defective, 
but  the  premise  is  inadequate.  It  is  not  true  that  all 
sins  are  of  this  limited  character,  and  this  fatal  fact 
vitiates  the  conclusion.     There  is  a  very  large  class  of 

sins  of  quite  a  different  nature. 

2 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

To  illustrate:  A  man  steals  an  article  of  value  from 
another,  and  retains  it  in  his  possession.  At  first  view 
this  sin  may  seem  to  be  like  the  other,  limited.  The 
act  of  taking  the  property  occurs  at  a  certain  defi- 
nite point  of  time,  and  there  ends.  Is  not  the  sin, 
then,  limited?  Does  it  not  cease  to  be  committed  as 
soon  as  the  property  is  taken?  Before  so  concluding 
V7e  must  inquire  what  it  was  in  the  man's  act  that  con- 
stituted the  crime  of  theft.  Plainly  it  was  the  de- 
priving another  of  his  property  and  appropriating  it  to 
himself.  But  he  has  been  doing  this  very  thing  ever 
since  he  stole  the  article.  Not  a  day  has  passed  in 
which  he  has  not  been  depriving  the  injured  man  of 
his  property;  and  he  has  been  committing  a  continued 
crime.  The  act  of  taking  the  property  was  but  the 
beginning  of  a  crime  which  has  continued  in  all  its 
force  ever  since.  This  is  true  both  objectively  and 
subjectively.  So  far  as  the  injury  to  the  other  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  plain  that  it  has  been  perpetuated.  But 
this  is  equally  true  of  the  mental  part  of  the  crime. 
At  the  time  of  taking  the  property  the  offender  ivilled 
to  deprive  another  of  that  which  belonged  to  him,  and 
be  has  willed  to  continue  that  deprivation.  In  all  its 
moral  aspects,  the  crime  of  theft  simply  began  with 
the  taking  of  the  property,  and  has  continued  to  be 
committed  from  that  time  to  the  present.  It  is  a  per- 
petuated cyHme. 

Now,  suppose  that  this  man  repents,  resolving  that 
he  will  commit  no  more  thefts,  and  comes  to  God  ask- 
ing his  forgiveness.  Can  he  be  forgiven?  Surely  not; 
for  he  is  committing  theft  all  the  time.  He  has  re- 
solved not  to  commit  any  oMe?- thefts,  but  he  is  already 
perpetuating  this  one,  and  will  continue  to  do  so. 
Evidently  his  repentance  is  worthless,  and  his  pardon 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

would  be  immoral,  should  it  be  granted. 

It  is,  therefore,  plain  that  a  course  which  proves 
adequate  when  dealing  with  a  limited  sin,  becomes 
wholly  inadequate  when  applied  to  a  perpetuated  sin, 
and  leaves  it,  in  all  its  essential  features,  untouched. 
The  question  of  perpetuation  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count, and  nothing  short  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  con- 
tinued commission  can  be  of  any  avail. 

Suppose,  now,  that  the  thief  does  so  repent  of  his 
crime  that  he  resolves  to  return  the  stolen  property — 
after  a  while.  This  would  be  an  effort  to  deal  with 
the  matter  of  perpetuation,  but  is  it  satisfactory?  The 
penitent  comes  to  God,  having  resolved  to  restore  the 
stolen  property  at  some  future  time,  and,  falling  on 
his  knees,  prays  for  forgiveness.  What  is  the  nature 
of  this  repentance?  It  contains  two  factors — a  reso- 
lution to  stop  the  perpetuation  of  a  theft,  and  a  reso- 
lution to  continue  it — for  a  time.  It  is  a  resolution  to 
steal  and  not  to  steal,  the  two  parts  of  it  being  allotted 
to  different  portions  of  time.  It  need  not  be  said  that 
a  repentance  which  contains  within  it  a  resolution  to 
commit  sin,  even  for  a  short  time,  is  defective,  how- 
ever sincere  the  intention  may  be  to  abandon  it  later 
on.  Were  pardon  to  be  granted  on  such  a  repent- 
ance, it  would  amount  to  forgiving  sin  in  advance,  as 
well  as  during  the  very  time  of  its  commission,  and 
would  be  of  the  nature  of  granting  an  indulgence  to 
commit  sin.  Such  a  pardon  would  be  a  violation  of 
moral  law. 

There  is  no  other  way  to  deal  with  a  perpetuated 
sin  than  to  put  a  stop  to  its  commission.  This  will  re- 
quire an  act  of  some  kind,  and  what  the  act  must  be 
will  depend  altogether  on  the  nature  of  the  sin. 
There   are   many   varieties  of  perpetuated   sins,  and 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

many  different  acts  are  therefore  necessary  to  bring 
them  to  an  end.  Two  of  these  varieties  I  may  notice 
in  passing:  There  are  sins  which  are  purely  mental  in 
character  and  which  may  naturally  be  brought  to  an 
end  by  a  simple  act  of  the  mind..  Sins  which  have 
been  not  simply  mental,  but  also  external,  consisting 
of  wrongs  perpetrated  on  others,  will  naturally  re- 
quire an  external  act  for  their  undoing. 

Whatever  it  may  require  to  undo  a  perpetuated  sin 
or  wrong,  it  is  certain  that  so  long  as  a  man  postpones 
that  undoing,  he  is  perpetuating  the  sin  in  all  its  feat- 
ures, morally  as  well  as  otherwise.  JSTo  repentance  is 
genuine  lohich  does  not  deal  with  perpetuated  sins  by 
immediately  undoing  them. 

§  2.  Christ's  Teaching  on  the  Subject, 
Christ  had  some  very  definite  things  to  say  regard- 
ing perpetuated  sins.  In  Mk.  xi.  25,  he  says: 
*  Whensoever  ye  stand  praying,  forgive,  if  ye  have 
aught  against  any  one:  that  your  Father  also  which 
i^  in  heaven  may  forgive  you  your  trespasses."  We 
bttre  have,  not  an  external  act  of  injury  against  an- 
other, but  a  harbored  grudge — a  mental  &\\\\  and  it 
m\\  require  an  appropriate  mental  act  to  bring  it  to 
an  end.  That  act  must  be,  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  forgiveness.  This  cannot  be  deferred,  we  are 
taught,  even  until  the  prayer  is  ended.  It  is  a  perpet- 
uated sin  ^  which,  will  shut  heaven  against  the  petition- 
er and  cut  off  the  divine  forgiveness.  This  same  fact 
is  stated  with  even  greater  emphasis  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  (Mt.  vi.  14,  15).  We  learn  from  these 
passages  that  if  such  a  sin  exists,  it  interposes  a  fatal 
barrier  to  the  divine  forgiveness  and  acceptance, 
which  no  general  repentance  and  no  pleadings  of 
prayer  can  remove — nothing  but  the  performance  of 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  act  necessary  to  bringing  the  perpetuated  sin  to  an 
end. 

In  Mt.  V.  23,  24,  we  have  an  example  of  perpetuated 
sin  of  quite  a  different  character.  The  passage  reads: 
"If  therefore  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  the  altar, 
and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught 
against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar, 
and  go  thy  way,  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother, 
and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift." 

That  it  is  a  perpetuated  sin  with  which  we  here 
have  to  do,  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  it  consists  of 
some  act  committed  in  the  past,  whose  wrong  did  not 
cease  with  the  commission,  but  still  continues,  and 
will  continue  till  the  offender  does  something  to 
make  it  right.  Some  sin  remains  in  full  force  which 
must  be  tin-committed.  This  case  differs  from  the 
one  just  considered  in  that  the  sin  is  not  confined  ex- 
clusively to  the  mind  of  the  one  committing  it,  but 
has  passed  outward,  in  word  or  deed,  to  the  injury  of 
another.  It  is  evident  that  this  injury  cannot  be  un- 
done by  any  merely  mental  act.  As  the  sin  has  trav- 
eled out  of  the  mind,  so  must  the  remedy.  The 
offender  must  go  to  the  one  he  has  wronged  and  make 
reparation.  In  just  what  this  reparation  must  con- 
sist, will  depend  altogether  on  the  character  of  the 
wrong  he  has  committed.  If  property  has  been 
stolen,  it  must  be  returned;  if  other  injury  has  been 
done,  it  must  be  repaired.  If,  by  unkind  words, 
hardness  has  been  produced  between  them  (see  v.  22), 
the  wrong  must  be  confessed,  and  forgiveness  sought. 
Such  steps  will  be  necessary  to  the  undoing  of  the 
wrong  committed;  and  no  merely  mental  act,  such  as 
we  found  sufficient  in  case  of  a  harbored  grudge,  will 
meet  the   conditions  of  the  case.     Much  less  can  a 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

repentance  containing  simply  a  resolution  to  commit 
710  more  such  wrongs,  avail  to  undo  this  sin.  To  deal 
with  such  a  wrong  as  a  limited  sin,  would  be  to  leave 
it  wholly  untouched  and  in  full  force  of  perpetua- 
tion. 

There  is  another  feature  of  this  case  which  it  is  of 
great  importance  to  consider.  The  worshiper  is 
represented  as  having  come  from  his  home,  bringing 
his  gift  to  be  offered.  He  stands  before  the  altar 
ready  to  offer  it, — or  according  to  the  reading  of  the 
Revised  Version,  is  actually  engaged  in  performing 
the  service, — when  he  remembers  that  he  has  com- 
mitted an  unrighted  wrong  against  his  brother  (neigh- 
bor). If  he  now  repents  of  this  wrong,  and  resolves 
to  make  reparation  afterwards,  may  he  not  go  for- 
ward and  complete  his  offering,  and  be  accepted? 
No;  the  very  purpose  and  force  of  the  illustration  is 
to  cut  this  off.  Had  the  command  been  that  no  one 
should  bring  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  while  such  a 
wrong  continued  to  exist,  room  might  have  been  left 
for  the  conjecture  that,  in  case  a  man  had  already 
brought  his  gift,  and  was  in  the  very  act  of  offering, 
it  when  he  bethought  him  of  the  wrong  against  his 
brother,  he  might,  perhaps,  be  allowed  to  complete 
the  offering,  and  then  undo  his  wrong  afterward. 
But  Christ  chooses  a  case  of  just  this  kind,  in  order 
that  he  may  cut  off  this  very  thing.  He  puts  a  man 
in  that  very  situation  and  then  tells  him  to  stop — go 
back,  undo  the  wrong,  and  then  come  and  complete 
his  offering. 

When  it  was  a  mental  sin  with  which  we  had  to  do, 
the  offender  was  not  even  allowed  to  finish  his  prayer 
until  he  had  undone  it,  and  it  was  found  that  mere 
repentance  could  not  undo    it,    that  another  mental 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

act  was  required.  So  now,  when  the  wrong  is  not 
simply  mental  but  external,  the  wrong-doer  is  not 
allowed  to  jDroceed  a  single  step  further  in  his  offer- 
ing, till  he  has  undone  the  mischief.  The  reason  for 
this  is  given  in  verse  22,  and  is,  that  the  offender  is 
resting  under  the  divine  condemnation.  The  ''there- 
fore" at  the  beginning  of  v.  23,  points  to  this  as  the 
reason.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  evident  that  no  worship 
can  be  acceptable,  and  that  no  divine  acceptance  or 
forgiveness  is  possible,  while  the  wrong  continues  to 
exist. 

This  view  is  hopelessly  at  variance  with  the  doc- 
trine that  the  divine  forgiveness  is  granted,  in  all 
cases,  immediately  on  repentance,  and  independent  of 
any  succeeding  act.  Yet  this  is  clearly  the  emphatic 
teaching  of  Christ,  whether  we  may  be  able  to  find  a 
reason  for  it  in  our  philosophy  of  salvation  or  not. 

But  this  emphatic  demand  is  not  arbitrary;  it  finds 
its  explanation  in  the  very  nature  of  a  perpetuated 
sin.  A  repentance  involving  simply  a  resolution  to 
bring  a  perpetuated  sin  to  an  end  at  some  future 
time,  is  also  a  resolution  to  continue  it  till  that  time 
— in  other  words,  a  resolution  to  commit  sin.  Such 
a  repentance  must  be  defective,  and  any  pardon  be-, 
stowed  on  the  ground  of  such  a  repentance  would  be 
of  the  nature  of  granting  an  indulgence  to  sin.  Even 
though  the  postponement  were  but  for  a  short  time,  it 
would  not  alter  the  moral  aspect  of  the  question. 
Practically,  a  short  postponement  would  be  far  less 
objectionable  than  a  long  one,  but  the  principle 
would  be  the  same  in  each  case.  To  come  to  God  for 
pardon  while  delaying  the  undoing  of  a  perpetuated 
sin  would  be  to  render  both  the  repentance  and  the 
pardon    (should   it   be    granted)    morally   defective. 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

The  question  is  not  one  of  length  of  time  at  all,  but 
one  of  precedence.  The  perpetuated  sin  should  be 
terminated  before  the  pardon  is  sought.  Such  is  the 
teaching  of  Christ.  There  can  be  no  divine  accept- 
ance, no  pardon  and  no  approach  to  God,  while  a 
wrong  which  can  be  undone  continues  to  exist. 

The  declarations  of  Christ  which  we  have  just  con- 
sidered, are  found  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and 
form  a  part  of  those  sublime  teachings  which  lie  at 
the  very  foundation  of  Christianity.  They  belong  to 
the  fundamental  principles  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and 
can  as  little  be  ignored  in  assigning  the  subsequent 
conditions  of  pardon  for  the  world,  under  his  estab- 
lished reign,  as  can  any  other  of  the  lofty  utterances 
of  that  remarkable  sermon.  When  "these  sayings'* 
shall  have  passed  away,  Christianity  itself  will  be  no 
more. 

§  3.     Some  Other  Forms  of  Perpetuated  Sin. 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  the  application  of 
these  principles,  it  will  be  necessary  to  turn  aside 
briefly  to  notice  two  phases  of  the  subject,  which  pre- 
sent themselves  at  this  point. 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  perpetuated  sins  thus 
far  considered,  have  possessed  two  features:  They 
have  been  of  such  a  character  that  it  was  (1)  possi- 
ble to  undo  the  wrongs  committed,  and  (2)  it  was 
possible  to  do  this  in  a  short  time.  But  it  is  neces- 
sary to  say  that  all  perpetuated  wrongs  are  not  of  this 
character. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  undo 
a  perpetuated  wrong.  The  person  who  has  been 
wronged  may  have  died  since  the  wrong  was  com- 
mitted, or  some  disability  may  have  been  laid  upon 
the  man  who  has  committed  it.     In  this  case  the  per- 

9 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

petuated  sin  will  pass  into  the  class  of  limited  sins,  so 
far  as  concerns  the  ability  to  undo;  and  ability  limits 
responsibility.  But  it  will  greatly  differ  in  another 
respect:  while  the  power  to  undo  may  have  passed 
away,  the  injury  may  remain.  Where  this  is  the  case, 
it  will  prove  a  great  misfortune,  not  alone  to  the  in- 
jured one,  but  also,  and  especially,  to  the  penitent 
himself.  It  belongs  to  the  very  nature  of  repentance 
to  desire  to  make  reparation.  It  is  moved  to  this  by 
all  the  force  of  its  inmost  nature,  and,  if  thwarted,  it 
suffers  deep  and  abiding  pain.  Its  wings  will  beat 
helplessly  against  the  bars  of  necessity,  and  it  will 
fall  back  baffled  and  wounded.  There  is  no  hunger 
like  that  of  foiled  repentance.  If  the  wrong  has 
been  a  great  one,  it  may  cast  a  shadow  over  the  entire 
life.  Thus  it  was  with  King  David,  and  with  others 
mentioned  in  the  pages  of  Sacred  Writ.  Often  the 
penitent  feels  that,  if  the  injured  one  could  rise  and 
smite  him  with  condign  punishment,  it  would  be  a 
relief — that  the  blow  would  bring  him  somewhat  of 
peace  and  rest.  Often,  when  his  secret  had  been  well 
guarded,  and  he  was  safe  from  discovery,  has  the 
offender  rushed  into  confession,  that  he  might  stand 
before  men  as  a  criminal  and  bare  his  breast  to  the 
sword  of  civil  justice,  counting  such  suffering  sweet, 
even  though  it  could  not  repair  the  wrong  done  to 
the  victim.  Happy  the  penitent  who  may  still  bind 
up  the  wounds  he  has  made,  and  tell  his  sorrow  into 
the  ear  of  the  one  he  has  wronged. 

While  the  mercy  of  heaven  is  not  closed  against 
such  a  baffled  repentance,  the  penitent  is,  neverthe- 
less, exposed  to  a  great  danger.  His  repentance  is 
deprived   of   its   proper   seal  of   genuineness   in  the 

making  of  reparation,  and  he  is  cast  upon  the  uncer- 

10 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

tainties  of  introspection.  There  is  no  subject  where- 
in self-deception  is  more  liable  to  exist,  and  probably 
more  common,  than  in  repentance.  Yet  a  foiled  re- 
pentance need  not  be  wholly  without  witness.  Does 
it  feel  this  pain,  this  starved  desire?  Does  it  go  out 
in  holy  yearnings  to  undo  its  wrong?  Would  suffer- 
ing be  welcomed,  could  it  in  any  way  repair  the  in- 
jury done?  Then  does  it  bear  a  mark  of  genuineness. 
But  if  there  be  no  such  pangs,  no  such  yearnings? 
Let  him  who  does  not  feel  them  beware ! 

But  again,  it  may  be  possible  to  undo  the  wrong  of 
a  perpetuated  sin,  but  it  may  require  a  long  time — 
weeks,  months,  or  even  years — to  do  it.  Here,  also, 
ability  limits  responsibility,  but  in  a  different  way. 
A  man  is  responsible  for  doing  in  the  present  only 
what  it  is  possible  for  him  to  do  in  the  present.  Let 
him  do  immediately  all  he  can,  purposing  to  do  what 
remains  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  man  who  does 
this  discharges  his  full  preserit  duty,  and  may  be  for- 
given. If,  then,  he  remains  true  to  his  purpose, 
discharging  in  coming  weeks  and  months  (as  was 
necessary  in  the  case  of  Zaccheus)  other  portions  of 
his  obligation  as  rapidly  as  possible,  he  remains  in 
the  divine  favor.  But,  if  he  foregoes  his  efforts  be- 
fore the  work  has  been  consummated,  he  renews  the 
perpetuation  of  his  sin,  and  falls  again  under  the 
divine  condemnation.  It  would  be  interesting  and 
instructive  to  follow  out  Christ's  dealings  with  cases 
of  this  kind,  but  such  an  examination  would  carry  us 
beyond  the  bounds  of  our  present  investigation, 
which  has  for  its  object  the  consideration  of  that 
class  of  perpetuated  wrongs  which  it  is  both  possible 
to  undo,  and  to  undo  speedily. 

Returning  from  this  digression,  let  us  now  proceed 

U 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

to  consider  those  fundaaiental  principles  of  the  divine 
government  which  we  have  found  enunciated  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  their  bearings  on  the  sin- 
ner's conversion  and  acceptance  with  God. 

A  man  is  moved  by  the  appeals  of  the  gospel,  and 
begins  to  think  seriously  regarding  his  condition. 
He  sees  his  alienation  from  God  in  its  true  light,  and 
becomes  aware  of  its  sinfulness  and  danger.  He  re- 
solves to  abandon  his  course,  and,  with  much  feeling 
and  strong  desire,  falls  on  his  knees  to  pray  for  par- 
don. Shall  he  be  forgiven?  Shall  he  be  accepted  to 
divine  sonship  then  and  there,  and  enrolled  among 
the  redeemed?  Sentiment  says,  yes.  Many  people 
will  say  unhesitatingly,  yes.  But,  in  view  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  the  de- 
mands of  moral  right,  can  we  so  answer  without 
further  inquiry?  Are  we  sure  that  this  man's  repent- 
ance has  not  been  simply  religious^  without  being  also 
morale 

The  great  distinguishing  characteristic,  rising 
mountain  high  in  both  Judaism  and  Christianity,  and 
marking  them  off  from  other  religions,  is  that  they 
have  demanded  not  only  the  religious^  but  also  the 
moral — and  have  demanded  it  in  mighty  tones.  All 
heathen  religions  have  required  submission  and  piety 
toward  their  gods,  but  they  have  been  lacking  in  the 
moral  element.  Let  us  be  sure  that  our  penitent  has 
a  mora?,  as  well  as  religious  conversion.  Let  us  ex- 
amine the  case.  On  his  hand  raised  to  God  in  prayer 
there  sparkles  a  jeweled  ring.  He  has  stolen  it  and 
might  have  returned  it,  but  has  not  yet  chosen  to  do 
so.  He  is  therefore  perpetuating  the  theft  whose 
signet  blazes  upon    the  very  hand  stretched  out  for 

mercy.      Shall    he    be    forgiven?      Or,    perhaps,    he 

12 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

may  not  have  done  this,  but  he  has  defrauded 
his  neighbor  in  a  business  transaction.  The  ill- 
gotten  gain  is  in  his  pocket;  he  can  return  it, 
but  has  decided  to  let  bygones  be  bygones.  When 
it  is  said  that  this  man's  conversion  is  unmoral, 
how  many  conversions  of  our  day  stand  impeached  by 
the  same  indictment?  How  much  restitution  is  ever 
made  by  the  converts  of  modern  revivals?  How 
often  is  such  a  thing  even  preached?  The  modern 
conversion  is  supremely  a  religious  conversion,  and  in 
too  many  cases  leaves  the  great  continent  of  human 
relations  untouched,  especially  those  of  a  commercial 
character.  It  is  a  conversion  to  a  certain  divine 
service  and  to  the  performance  of  certain  religious 
duties,  and  is  largely  lacking  in  the  moral  element. 
Such  a  conversion  is  not  only  largely  non-moral,  but 
non-Christian.  Will  it  be  said  that  Christianity  is 
already  hard  pressed,  and  that  we  cannot  be  too  ex- 
acting with  men  without  cutting  off  a  large  share  of 
her  following  and  destroying  her  prestige?  She  has, 
it  must  be  admitted,  in  our  brilliant  civilization  such 
a  rival  for  the  human  heart  as  religion  has  never  be- 
fore encountered.  The  world  has  never  been  so  fas- 
cinating, nor  its  claims  so  urgent.  In  the  mad  rush  to 
seize  its  prizes,  the  masses  little  heed  the  voice  of  the 
church.  Must  she  not,  then,  speak  pleasant  things  to 
them  and  sue  for  their  favor?  When  she  enters  upon 
this  rivalry,  she  is  already  worsted — yea,  and  degraded 
too.  If  she  will  but  use  it,  she  holds  in  her  hand  a 
power  over  men  which  the  world  cannot  claim — a 
tremendous  power — the  solemn  voice  of  duty.  We 
need  Elijahs  in  our  pulpits  more  than  cushions  in  our 
pews.     We  may  not  attract  the  masses,  but  we  may 

do  better — we  may  command  them.     It  is  not  when 

13 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

she  demands  least  of  men  that  Christianity  exerts 
most  power  over  them,  but  when  she  requires  most. 
It  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  old  theology  is  dead, 
and  out  of  date;  but  charge  home  upon  the  con- 
science, and  when  it  wakes  from  its  drugged  slumber 
it  will  see  awful  eyes  looking  out  of  the  heavens,  and 
hear  the  mutterings  of  distant  thunder  on  a  far-off 
shore.  It  is  not  too  late  to  reason  '*of  righteousness, 
temperance  and  judgment  to  come,"  and  to  make 
sinners  tremble.  Great  truths  lie  written  within 
upon  the  heart.  Uncover  that  palimpsest  and  they 
shall  burn  there  in  letters  of  living  light — a  page  so 
clear  that  none  can  gainsay,  attesting  the  voice  of 
revelation.  I  plead  for  a  complete  reinstatement  of 
the  moral  element  in  conversion.  While  such  an  ex- 
action may  drive  some  from  the  church,  it  will  endow 
her  with  a  new  power  of  mastery  over  the  human  heart. 
Christianity  was  never  so  mighty  as  when  clothed 
with  a  terrible  moral  earnestness — never  so  masterful 
as  when  an  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  stricken  dead 
for  a  crooked  transaction. 

When  a  man  comes  to  GQ,d  offering  himself  upon 
the  altar  of  divine  service,  if  he  has  i^erpetuated  sins 
which  have  not  been  brought  to  an  end — if  he  has 
wronged  his  neighbor  in  word  (Mt.  v.  22)  or  deed, 
the  teachings  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  demand 
that  he  shall  stop!  and  go  and  make  right  those 
wrongs  before  he  can  hope  for  acceptance. 

§4.  Did  the  Apostles  Ignore  This  Principle  in 
Their  Work  of   Converting  Men? 

We  are  here  met  by   an  important  question :     Did 

the  apostles   exact  these  conditions  of  men  in  their 

preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  world?     They  did  not 

need  to  do  so  ^vith  the  Jewish  people,  for  these  condi- 

14 


PERPETUATED    SINS 

tions  were  with  them  self-executing.  The  Jewish  law 
demanded  in  the  most  explicit  terms  (Lev.  vi.  1-7) 
that,  in  case  of  any  wrong  done  against  another,  rep- 
aration should  in  all  cases  be  made  before  any  o:ffer- 
ing  could  be  brought  for  it,  and  before  there  could  be 
any  divine  forgiveness.  For  centuries  not  a  wrong  of 
this  kind  had  been  atoned  for  in  any  other  way.  Philo 
says  that  "when  a  man  had  injured  his  brother,  and 
repenting  of  his  fault,  voluntarily  acknowledged  it,  he 
was  first  to  make  restitution,  and  then  to  come  into 
the  temple,  presenting  his  sacrifice  and  asking  par- 
don."* The  early  Jewish  converts  did  not  understand 
that  their  law  ceased  to  be  binding;  so  that  it  was 
impossible  that  any  Jew  could  for  a  moment  think  of 
finding  acceptance  with  God  until  he  had  compounded 
for  a  wrong  of  this  kind.  This  condition  would, 
therefore,  in  the  case  of  every  Jewish  convert,  be 
self-executing.  Moreover,  Christ  had  endorsed  and 
re-enacted  this  requirement,  greatly  enlarged  it  by  ex- 
tending its  application  to  wrongs  not  before  included 
under  its  provisions,  and  intensified  its  emphasis  by 
stopping  the  offender  in  the  very  act  of  making  his 
oifering,  and  forbidding  his  approach  to  God  till  he 
had  righted  the  wrong.  Can  we  for  a  moment  believe 
that  the  apostles  accepted  men,  admitting  them  to  sal- 
vation and  all  the  honors  of  divine  sonship,  whose 
status  was  such  that  Christ  declared  them  to  be  in 
"danger  of  hell-fire,"  and  that  no  service  from  them 
could  be  accepted?  In  preaching  to  the  heathen,  the 
apostles,  of  course,  gave  them  whatever  instruction 
was  found  necessary,  both  on  this  and  on  other  sub- 
jects. 
But  this  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  teaching.     A  man 

♦Quoted  from  Bloomfield,  Com.,  Mt.  v.  24. 

15 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

in  the  throes  of  conviction,  viewing  things  in  the  light 
of  an  awakened  conscience,  does  not  need  to  be  told 
that  he  cannot  be  acceptable  to  a  righteous  God  while 
he  is  holding  out  in  a  wrong  against  his  brother,  nor 
that,  in  delaying  to  make  it  right,  when  he  might  do 
so  immediately,  he  is  continuing  to  wrong  him.  It  is 
simply  a  matter  of  moral  intuition,  and  utters  itself 
in  tones  of  pain,  and  in  voices  of  rebuke,  in  every 
awakened  conscience.  In  the  absence  of  false  teach- 
ing regarding  the  divine  clemency,  such  conditions 
would  be  self-executing  in  every  case  of  true  moral 
awakening.  They  simply  belong  to  genuine  repent- 
ance. 

Cases  requiring  instruction  on  this  point  would  not 
be  common,  but  exceptional;  and  can  we  suppose 
that  when  the  apostles  met  with  them  they  failed  to 
deal  with  them  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of 
Christ?  The  gospel  demands  all  this  when  it  com- 
mands men  to  repent.  He  who  teaches  repentance 
faithfully  will  have  few  calls  for  instruction  on  this 
point.* 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  first  and  overmastering  im- 
pulse of  a  truly  moral  repentance-^of  the  man  who 


*If  any  one  should  be  disposed  to  take  a  different  view  of  this 
matter,  he  must  hold  this  to  be  an  exception  to  a  general  princi- 
ple of  the  divine  government.  But,  then,  it  would  be  a  perilous 
exception,  since  it  involves  the  violation  of  a  law  of  moral  right. 

If  it  be  thought  strange  that  nothing  should  be  said  about  this 
matter,  either  in  the  Commission  given  by  Christ,  or  in  the  cases 
of  conversion  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  Apostles,  let  it  be  consid- 
ered that  the  same  may  be  said  of  verbal  confession  of  faith  in 
Christ.  It  is  not  mentioned,  either  in  the  Commission,  or  in  the 
statement  of  the  conditions  of  salvation  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
(Acts  ii.  38),  or  in  the  accounts  of  a  large  number  of  conversions 
recorded  in  the  Acts  (Acts  viii.  37  is  regarded  as  spurious),  and 
yet  who  doubts  that  it  was  present,  and  was  required  by  the  apos- 
tles? 

16 


PEKPETUATED    SINS 

has  been  roused  to  a  hatred  of  his  sin — will  not  be  to 
provide  for  his  personal  safety,  but  to  rush  out  of  his 
sin,  to  put  it  from  him  in  moral  abhorrence.  On  the 
contrary,  the  man  whose  fear  of  punishment  has  been 
chiefly  excited,  with  but  a  feeble  quickening  of  the 
moral  nature,  will  instinctively  rush  to  God  for  par- 
don, leaving  moral  adjustments  for  a  later  date.  A 
modern  view  widely  prevalent  is  that  the  sinner  may, 
upon  his  repentance,  come  immediately  to  God  for 
pardon,  without  the  intervention  of  any  act,  leaving 
the  undoing  of  any  wrong  till  another  time.  I  can 
only  say  that  this  is  the  course  that  a  predominantly 
selfish  repentance  would  instinctively  pursue;  while 
the  repentance  approved  by  Christ,  towering  high  in 
its  moral  grandeur,  will  forget  self  till  it  has  undone 
the  wrongs  that  have  broken  its  heart.  Such  are  the 
movings  of  our  moral  nature.  Are  they  not  divine? 
Christ  was  not  mistaken  when  he  framed  the  law  of 
divine  approach  in  accordance  with  our  moral  rather 
than  our  selfish  instincts.  Had  the  gospel  contained 
no  condition  to  stop  the  man  fleeing  to  God  in  selfish- 
ness for  salvation,  it  would  have  been  a  grave  blunder. 
These  conditions  form  the  assay  of  righteousness  in 
conversion.  Insist  upon  them,  and  you  immediately 
restore  conversion  to  all  its  moral  grandeur. 
(2)  17 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   RELATION   OF   Bi^PTISM   TO  PERPETUATED  SINS. 

§i.  A  Perpetuated  Sin  of  a  G-eneral  Character, 
and  the  Means  of  Terminating  it. 

We  now  approach  a  question  of  great  importance 
to  our  investigation.  Supposing  that  all  wrongs 
which  may  have  been  committed  against  individuals, 
as  pointed  out  in  the  last  chapter,  have  been  adjusted, 
is  the  way  now  open  to  the  divine  acceptance?  Be- 
fore answering  this  question  it  will  be  necessary  to 
consider  another  fact  regarding  sin.  There  are  sins 
of  such  character  that  they  wrong,  not  simply  one  in- 
dividual, but  many,  or  even  the  world  at  large.  Is 
there  any  such  sin  in  the  case  before  us?  I  answer, 
Yes. 

During  his  past  life  our  penitent  has  stood  apart 
from  Christ,  withholding  allegiance  and  refusing  obe- 
dience to  his  commands,  and  the  whole  force  of  his 
example  has  tended  to  lead  others  to  do  so.*  He 
may  not  have  been  engaged  in  active  rebellion,  but  the 
case  is  such  that  neutrality  is  impossible;  and  Christ 
himself  has  declared  that  he  who  is  not  for  him  is 
against  him.  Such  a  life  is  a  denial  of  Christ  before 
the  world. 

The  power  of  personal  influence,  whose  strongest 
manifestation  is  in  example,  is  the  greatest  of  all 
forces  in  the  shaping  of  human  character.     Beside  it, 


*This  is  the  usual  condition.  Should  a  man  obey  the  gospel 
as  soon  as  it  becomes  known  to  him  he  would  not  incur  the  guilt 
of  rejection  of  Christ,  but  it  would  still  be  necessary  for  him  to 
correct  a  false  position  before  the  world,  fraught  with  great  harm. 

18 


THE   RELATION    OF    BAPTISM   TO   PERPETUATED   SINS 

as  a  determining  force,  reason  and  the  demands  of 
right  sink  into  insignificance.  It  is  the  king  of  moral 
forces.  Now,  in  the  former  life  of  oar  penitent  this 
force  has  been  against  Christ.  Be  it  little  or  great, 
the  whole  weight  of  his  character  has  been  on  that 
side.  In  this  he  has  wronged  the  world,  and  wronged 
Christ  and  his  kingdom;  and  in  the  light  of  eternity 
his  wrong  has  been  a  great  one. 

His  life  may  have  been  highly  moral,  and  may  have 
even  challenged  the  admiration  of  his  fellows;  if  so, 
he  has  only  with  the  greater  power  attracted — 
charmed  men  away  from  Christ.  He  may  even,  as 
with  many  moralists,  have  been  fond  of  comparing  his 
moral  life  with  the  lives  of  Christ's  followers,  to 
their  supposed  disadvantage.  In  this  he  has  engaged 
in  a  rivalry  against  Christ's  church,  with  a  tendency 
to  injure  it  and  lessen  its  influence. 

A  wrong  done  to  the  world  by  means  of  a  harmful 
example  is  regarded  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  sin.  In  I. 
Cor.  viii.  10-12,  a  misleading  example,  even  in  minor 
matters,  is  declared  to  be  a  sin.  What  must  it  then 
be  in  a  matter  involving  the  eternal  destiny  of  others? 
The  sin  of  leading  others  to  sin  is  not  a  light  one. 
Christ  says:  '* Whoso  shall  cause  one  of  these  little 
ones,  which  believe  on  me,  to  stumble,  it  is  profit- 
able for  him  that  a  great  millstone  should  be  hanged 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  should  be  sunk  in  the 
depth  of  the  sea.  Woe  unto  the  world  because  of 
occasions  of  stumbling  !  for  it  must  needs  be  that  the 
occasions  come;  but  woe  to  that  man  through  whom 
the  occasion  cometh"  (Mt  xviii.  6,  7,  R.  V.).  To 
cause  one  of  Christ's  followers  to  stumble  and  to 
keep  a  person  from  becoming  his  follower  are  sins  of 

like  character.     The  sin  in  each  case  is  that  of  caus- 

19 


MORAL   AND    SPIRIT  UAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

ing  the  ruin  of  a  soul.  How  vast,  how  incalculable, 
the  wrong  done  to  such  a  one!  Beside  it  many  of 
the  wrongs,  and  even  crimes  of  the  world,  in  point  of 
harmfulness,  sink  into  insignificance. 

It  is  not  easy  to  follow  the  burrowings  of  influence, 
nor  to  gauge  its  force,  but  there  are  certain  facts 
which  may  give  us  hints  of  what  is  taking  place  in 
that  invisible  realm.  Let  every  person  of  moral  and 
respectable  character  in  a  community  take  his  stand 
for  Christ,  leaving  only  the  vile,  the  wicked  and  the 
debauched  on  the  other  side,  and  what  tremendous 
odds  it  would  place  on  the  side  of  Christ  in  the  minds 
of  all  young  persons  reaching  the  age  of  responsibil- 
ity in  that  community!  It  would  be  well-nigh  over- 
whelming. Those  respectable  people  hold  in  their 
hands  the  eternal  destiny  of  most  of  the  youth  of 
that  community,  and  they  will  blast  that  destiny. 

A  bolt  of  lightning  quivers  in  the  air  and  strikes 
the  earth;  persons  at  some  distance  feel  the  shock; 
we  call  it  induction.  A  man  casts  his  life  on  the  side 
of  Christ;  a  shock  for  righteousness  is  felt  through- 
out the  community.  With  every  such  reversal  the 
force  for  evil  shrinks  and  the  force  for  good  bulks 
larger  in  the  world.  The  moral  atmosphere  becomes 
purer  and  is  surcharged  with  a  stronger  quickening 
power.  Others  often  follow,  and  sometimes  a  large 
ingathering  into  Christ's  kingdom  results.  That  man 
had  been  keeping  all  those  souls  away  from  Christ. 
In  the  light  of  eternity,  how  great  was  the  magnitude 
of  his  wrong ! 

Such,  in  his  past  life,  has  been  the  wrong  of  our 
penitent  against  the  world,  and  against  Christ  and  his 
kingdom.      What   it  concerns  us   now   especially  to 

note,  is  the  fact  that  that  wrong  is  still  in  full  force, 

20 


THE   RELATION   OF   BAPTISM   TO   PERPETUATED   SINS 

He  has  done  nothing  to  undo  it.  He  has  repented, 
but  the  world  does  not  know  it.  His  life  is  still  lead- 
ing men  away  from  Christ.  He  is  still  working  the 
spiritual  ruin  of  his  fellowmen.  He  is  still  standing 
before  the  world  against  Christ.  Was  he  committing 
a  sin  before  by  doing  this?  He  is  committing  that 
same  sin  now.  This  wrong  against  the  world  will 
continue  till  he  brings  it  to  an  end.  It  is  a  perpet- 
uate d  sin.  If  he  has  never  before  known  of  Christ, 
his  wrong  position  before  the  world  has  not  till  now 
become  sinful,  but  he  cannot  now  continue  it  without 
perpetuating  a  sin. 

He  is  on  his  knees  offering  himself  to  God  and  su- 
ing for  pardon.  Shall  he  be  forgiven?  The  teach- 
ings of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  demand  that  he 
shall  STOP — go  and  make  right  his  wrong,  and  then 
present  his  offering.  He  can  do  this  quickly  if  he 
will,  but  resolves  to  do  it  aftey^  a  while.  Shall  he  be 
forgiven  on  a  repentance  which  resolves  to  continue 
pin  for  a  time?  And  shall  God  forgive  this  future 
sin  in  advance,  thus  granting  him  an  indulgence  to 
commit  it?  The  thought  is  utterly  opposed  to  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government  as  exemplified  in 
both  dispensations  and  most  emphatically  announced 
by  Christ,  and  is  equally  repugnant  to  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  moral  right. 

It  is  a  relief  to  feel  that  most  of  those  who  come 
to  God,  praying  for  pardon  immediately  on  their  re- 
pentance, do  not  realize  the  situation,  and  are  not 
aware  what  they  are  asking  God  to  do.  But  should 
they  be  allowed  to  remain  ignorant  of  this  monstrous 
oversight  of  the  divine  teaching  and  of  moral  con- 
sistency itself?     To   come  to  God  for  pardon    while 

21 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

perpetuating  such  a  sin,  is  to  ask  him  to  perform  an 
immoral  act. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  another  question: 
How  shall  this  wrong  against  the  world  and  against 
Christ  be  undone?  There  is  but  one  natural  and  nec- 
essary way — by  profession.  This  reverses  the  moral 
force  of  the  life  upon  the  world.  It  is  the  only  thing 
that  can  do  it.  Profession  is  as  naturally  fitted  to 
undo  this  wrong  as  the  return  of  stolen  goods  is  to 
undo  a  theft.  So  far  is  it  from  being  arbitrary  that  it 
is  the  only  possible  way  of  undoing  such  a  wrong. 
No  other  way  can  even  be  imagined.  Py^ofession, 
therefore,  must  he  a  condition  of  the  divi^ie  pardon. 
To  such  a  conclusion  are  we  irresistibly  driven  by  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government  laid  down  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  applied  to  the  conditions  of 
the  case  under  consideration. 

Let  us  now  pause  to  ask  one  question :  Did  Christ 
regard  those  fundamental  principles,  laid  down  in  his 
great  sermon,  as  applying  to  this  particular  case? 
Are  our  reasonings  justified  by  any  direct  statements 
from  him  and  his  apostles?  In  Mt.  x.  32,  33,  he  says: 
* 'Every  one  therefore  who  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  confess  before  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven.  But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven." 

Here  confession  before  men  is  made  a  condition  of 

Christ's   recognition    before    the    Father,    which    is 

equivalent  to  the  divine  acceptance.     In  Rom.  x.  9, 

10,  it  is  said  that,  *'If  thou  shalt  confess   with  thy 

mouth  Jesus  as  Lord,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart 

that  God   raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou   shalt  be 

saved:    for  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  right- 

22 


THE   RELATION   OF   BAPTISM   TO   PERPETUATED   SINS 

eousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation."  Here  the  language  is  very  definite,  and 
all  possibility  of  mistake  is  cut  off  by  expressing  the 
conditionality  in  two  different  ways.  Just  as  surely 
as  faith  stands  conditionally  before  righteousness,  so 
surely  does  confession  stand  conditionally  before  sal- 
vation. The  construction  is  precisely  the  same,  and 
the  two  statements  are  parts  of  the  same  sentence. 
It  is  as  impossible  to  place  the  salvation  before  the 
confession  as  to  place  the  righteousness  before  the 
faith.  The  order  is  fixed  in  this  sentence.  In  the 
preceding  verse  the  faith  and  confession  are  bound 
together  as  conditions  of  the  same  salvation.  What- 
ever salvation  it  be  that  is  conditioned  on  faith,  it  is 
that  salvation  that  is  conditioned  on  confession. _  It 
is  agreed  that  the  salvation  by  faith  is  a  salvation 
from  sin.  Confession  therefore  goes  before^  and  is  a 
condition  of  salvation  from  sin.  That  confession  is 
a  condition  of  present  salvation  is  proved  also  by  I. 
Jn.  iv.  15:  "Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God,  God  abideth  in  him  and  he  in  God." 
Here  the  result  of  the  confession  is  stated  in  the 
present  tense.  Faith  and  profession,  therefore,  are 
steps  bringing  us  into  pi^esent  union  with  God — a 
present  salvation. 

Such  is  the  emphatic  teaching  of  Scripture,  accord- 
ing exactly  with  the  fundamental  law  laid  down  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  But  further,  the  very 
nobility  of  conversion  itself  requires  that  this  should 
be  so.  Conversion  should  not  be  craven;  it  should 
be  manly;  it  should  be  honorable.  After  having 
lived  in  disobedience  to  Christ  before  the  world,  shall 
the  sinner  creep  in  secretly  through  some  back  door 

and  be  saved?   Would  any  manly  soul  desire  to  do  so? 

23 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Should  the  gospel  be  so  fraaied  as  to  give  encourage- 
ment to  an  unmanly  conversion? 

^2.     Baptis7ii  as  a  Means  of  Profession. 

But  confession  with  the  mouth  is  not  all  of  profes- 
sion. The  word  rendered  "confess"  has  also  the 
larger  meaning  of  profess,  and  is  sometimes  so  ren- 
dered. Nor  does  verbal  profession  fully  answer  the 
requirements  of  the  case.  It  is,  however,  a  necessary 
part  of  profession.  The  belief  that  "Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,"  cannot  be  fitly  expressed 
without  the  use  of  words,  although  loyal  conduct  may 
show  that  Christ  is  regarded  as  worthy  of  obedience. 
The  conviction  of  the  understanding  can  only  be  ade- 
quately expressed  in  words  giving  in  completeness  and 
definiteness  its  content.  Besides,  the  step  which  is  to 
follow  will  require  the  co-operation  of  another,  and  a 
statement  is  necessary  to  inform  him  of  the  candi- 
date's fitness  to  take  it. 

These  are  the  important  ends  to  be  attained  by  con- 
fession, and  they  must  always  render  it  an  indispensa- 
ble part  of  profession ;  but  the  soul's  part  in  this  great 
transaction  is  reserved  for  other  expression.  As  cer- 
tainly as  words  are  best  fitted  to  express  the  convic- 
tions of  the  understanding,  so  certainly  are  they  not 
fitted  to  express  the  profoundest  emotions  of  the 
heart.  Even  in  our  earthly  experiences  there  are 
things  of  the  heart  so  deep  that  words  seem  but  mock- 
ery. The  step  of  the  soul  wherein  it  casts  off  forever 
its  sinful  past,  gives  itself  in  devout  consecration  to 
God,  and  lays  hold  on  its  Redeemer,  can  find  fitting 
expression  only  in  an  act  of  solemn  impressiveness, 
voicing  its  deep  and  holy  meaning.     There  are  crises 

in  life  so  moving  that  words  die  upon  the  lips,  and  re- 

24 


THE   RELATION   OF   BAPTISM   TO   PERPETUATED   SINS 

fuse  to  be  spoken ;  but  there  are  none  so  moving  as 
this  great  step  of  the  soul. 

This  is  not  all ;  the  wrong  which  it  is  the  object  of 
the  penitent  to  undo  by  profession  is  not  a  trifling 
one,  to  be  dismissed  by  a  word.  It  has  entered  into 
the  characters  of  his  f  ellowmen ;  and  it  is  a  most  pain- 
ful fact  that,  do  what  he  may,  he  may  be  unable  fully 
to  undo  the  mischief  he  has  wrought.  Shall  he  not  do 
what  he  can?  Acts  speak  louder  than  words.  The 
spell  of  sin  on  his  fellowmen  is  not  easily  broken.  In 
the  deafness  of  the  world's  unbelief,  in  the  mighty 
roar  of  its  great  life,  shall  the  convert  but  whisper  his 
profession?  With  an  express  train  thundering  on  to 
death,  shall  one  but  calmly  say,  as  it  dashes  past 
him,  "The  bridge  is  broken"?  Shall  he  not  plant  him- 
self upon  the  track,  wave  the  signal,  and  in  every  most 
effective  way  proclaim  the  peril?  By  nothing  but  a 
great  and  solemn  act,  burdened  with  the  soul's  awful 
meaning,  can  the  penitent  discharge  his  duty  before 
his  dying  fellows.  If  such  a  holy  necessity  lie  not 
upon  his  heart,  his  conversion  is  but  selfish,  and  he  is 
unworthy  of  the  divine  forgiveness.  Moreover,  to 
but  half  undo  a  wrong  is  to  perpetuate  it  in  part;  that 
is,  to  prolong  the  sin. 

For  Christ  not  to  have  provided  a  strong  voice  of 
profession  for  the  convert  would  have  been  to  mock 
his  own  death.  Words  for  him  would  have  been  easy, 
and  they  had  their  use,  but  only  through  the  excru- 
ciating sufferings  of  the  cross  could  love  find  its  way  to 
the  heart  of  the  world.  In  an  act,  an  awful  act, 
must  his  love  tell  its  agony  for  men.  The  convert  has 
also  something  to  say  to  the  world.  With  alarm  for 
their  danger,  with  strong  and  passionate  j^earning  for 
their  rescue,  does  he  reverse  his  position  before  his 

25 


MOKAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

fellowmen.  It  is  a  deep  thing  of  the  heart;  words 
cannot  utter  it,  nor  through  them  can  it  reach  men 
with  power. 

The  penitent  stands  in  the  waters  of  baptism.  He 
sinks  beneath  their  surface — dead,  dead  to  sin  I 
(Such  is  the  utterance.)  Buried  from  the  old  life  for- 
ever! With  a  mighty  voice  he  has  recalled  his  old  life 
of  wrong-doing  before  the  world,  and  that  sin  is  end- 
ed. Shall  he  be  pardoned?  JSfoiv,  hut  not  till  noiv, 
says  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Having  righted  his 
wrong,  he  may  now  offer  himself  to  God  and  be  ac- 
cepted. He  is  pardoned,  and,  as  he  rises  to  the  new 
life,, greetings  of  the  heavenly  world  await  him,  while 
the  Spirit  of  sonship  rests  upon  him  and  fills  him 
with  a  new  joy,  and  a  felt  assurance  which  utters  itself 
in  the  glad  cry,  "Abba,  Father." 
f"  '  To  such  a  conclusion  are  we  led  by  the  teachings  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  their  application  to  the 
conditions  of  the  sinner's  conversion.  We  lately 
paused  to  ask  whether  these  principles  were  applied 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles  to  the  matter  of  p7'ofession. 
Let  us  now  pause  to  inquire  whether  they  also  applied 
them  to  the  great  and  consummating  act  of  profes- 
sion, Christian  baptism.*  As  the  man  who  had 
wronged  his  brother  could  not  offer  an  acceptable  gift 
to  God  until  he  had  first  made  right  that  wrong,  so  now 


*It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  offer  any  elaborate  proof  that 
baptism  is  an  act  of  profession,  as  it  is  generally,  if  not  univer- 
sally, so  regarded.  The  late  Dr.  Chas.  Hodge,  of  Princeton,  de- 
clares baptism  to  be  "the  appointed  means  of  confession." 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Confession  speaks  of  it  as  "a  sign  of 
profession,"  while  other  great  church  symbols  express  the  same 
thought  in  different  language. 

From  the  fact  that,  as  a  symbolic  act,  baptism  expresses  some- 
thing, it  becomes,  by  its  very  nature,  an  act  of  profession;  and  it 
was,  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  still  continues  to  be,  performed  as 

26 


THE    RELATION   OF   BAPTISM   TO    PERPETUATED    SINS 

is  it  true  that  a  man  who  is  wrongiug  the  world  by  his 
standing  apart  from  Christ  cannot  be  accepted  until 
he  undoes  that  wrong  by  baptism?  Is  baptism  a  con- 
dition of  the  divine  acceptance  and  the  remission  of 
sins?  According  to  this  principle  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment it  must  be  so. 

But  are  the  Scriptures  true  to  this  principle?  and, 
in  formulating  the  law  of  salvation,  do  they  so  repre- 
sent it? 

Christ  says  in  John  iii.5,  *'Except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God."  In  Acts  ii.  38  it  is  said  that  repentance  and 
baptism  are  "unto  the  remission  of  sins,"  and  in  Acts 
xxii.  16,  under  the  figure  of  a  w^ashing,  that  baptism 
takes  away  sin;  in  Titus  iii.  5,  that  we  are  saved  by  the 
"washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  Che  Holy 
Spirit";  and  in  I.  Peter  iii.  21,  that  baptism  "saves" 
us.  We  are  said  to  be  "baptized  into  Christ"  (Gal. 
iii.  27;  Rom.  vi.  3),  and,  in  baptism,  to  "put  on 
Christ"  (Gal.  iii.  27);  and  we  are  told  that  through 
faith  we  become  "sons  of  God"  when  we  are  "bap- 
tized into  Christ"  (Gal.  iii.  26,  27).  In  Rom.  vi.3-6  we 
are  taught  that  in  baptism  we  put  off  the  old  life  and 
enter  upon  the  new;  and  in  Acts  ii.  38  baptism  is 
said  to  be  a  condition  of  the  reception  of  the  Holy 


publicly  as  confession  with  the  mouth.  It  is,  therefore,  a  public 
profession;  and,  when  we  take  into  account  ivhat  it  is  that  it  ex- 
presses, it  becomes  at  once  clear  that  it  must  be  the  great  act  of 
Christian  profession. 

Confession  with  the  mouth  tells  the  story  of  the  understand- 
ing; this  tells  the  story  of  the  heart.  Baptism  is  more  than  pro- 
fession, but  it  /^profession — and  the  very  heart  oi  it. 

In  the  Commission,  as  well  as  in  a  great  number  of  conversions 
recorded  in  the  Acts  of  Apostles,  baptism  is  the  only  form  of  pro- 
fession mentioned.  This  shows,  not  that  verbal  confession  was 
not  present,  for  it  must  have  been,  but  that  baptism  was  regarded 
as  the  great  act  of  profession. 

27 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Spirit.  Other  passages  might  be  mentioned,  but  the 
list  need  not  be  extended. 

These  references  are  so  numerous,  so  definite,  and 
so  positive,  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  any 
one  who  sees  no  difficulty  in  admitting  that  baptism  is 
a  condition  of  the  remission  of  sins  should  for  a  mo- 
ment hesitate  to  regard  this  as  the  teaching  of  the 
Scriptures.  I  am  aware  that  means  have  been  found 
to  break  the  force  of  these  passages,  but  many  of  the 
methods  are  so  violent  that  hardly  a  passage  in  the 
whole  Bible  could  stand  before  them.  The  doctrine 
that  faith  itself  is  a  condition  of  salvation  is  not  sup- 
ported by  an  array  of  Scripture  more  positive  and 
definite. 

But,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  dispose  of  all  these 
passages,  the  doctrine  that  a  man  may  be  pardoned 
immediately  on  his  repentance,  while  delaying  his  pro- 
fession, would  have  yet  to  encounter  insuperable  diffi- 
culties. That  baptism  should  be  a  condition  of  the 
remission  of  sins  is  not  an  arbitrary  requirement, 
alien  to  the  general  spirit  of  Christianity,  but  is  only 
one  out  of  many  applications  of  a  far-reaching  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  government,  exemplified  in  both 
dispensations,  and  announced  with  great  emphasis  by 
Christ  in  his  greatest  sermon.  Moreover,  that  a  man 
should  be  pardoned  while  continuing  to  stand  in  a 
sinful  position  before  the  world,  is  a  viohttion  of  a 
clear  principle  of  moral  right,  and  both  vitiates  the 
repentance  and  implicates  God  in  the  wrong  of  grant- 
ing an  indulgence  to  sin. 

So  largely  is  conversion,  in  modern  times,  regarded 
as  a  matter  of  sentiment,  and  so  greatly  have  meas- 
ures tt)  work  upon  the  feelings   predominated,  that 

the  very  existence  of  such  a  sin   as  this  has  been  well 

28 


THE    RELATION    OF    BAPTISM   TO    PERPETUATED    SINS 

nigh  overlooked,  and  the  means  appointed  to  undo  it 
have  come  to  appear  strange  and  out  of  place.  Con- 
version should  not  less  profoundly  lay  hold  on  the 
feelings,  but  it  must  be  also  moral.  It  cannot  ignore 
the  solidarity  of  mankind.  Sin  has  both  a  manward 
and  a  Godward  side.  Any  conversion  which  fails  to 
adjust  both  these  relations  must  be  defective,  and 
cannot  be  acceptable  to  a  righteous  God.  The  mod- 
ern view,  widely  prevalent,  would  retain  profession 
(confession  and  prayer)  before  God^  but  reject  profes- 
sion before  men  as  an  antecedent  condition  of  divine 
acceptance.  The  Bible  demands  both.  There  is  cit- 
ing need  of  a  revival  of  the  moral  in  conversion  and 
in  the  Christian  life.  Conversion  is  the  foundation 
of  that  life,  and  the  revival  must  begin  there,  or  it 
cannot  be  elsewhere.  The  whole  question  of  the 
manward  side  of  conversion  is  largely  a  forgotten 
gospel.  Repentance  has  lost  its  peculiar  seal  of  gen- 
uineness— restitution,  reparation — and  the  church  has 
forgotten  to  demand  the  undoing  of  social  wrongs, 
while  a  sinful  position  before  the  world  is  thought  to 
be  no  bar  to  the  divine  acceptance.  The  perpetuated 
sin,  and  all  that  appertains  to  it,  has  well  nigh  passed 
out  of  the  cognizance  of  tho  church  of  modern  times. 
Put  back  into  conversion  the  moral  element  in  its 
completeness,  and  Christianity  will  wield  a  new  power 
over  men.  In  the  moral  resides  the  chief  credential 
of  her  divinity.  When  she  begins  again  to  work 
moral  miracles,  she  will  be  irresistible. 

Baptism    has   a   great  moral  reason  behind  it.     A 

wrong  against  the  world  and  against  Christ  is  to  be 

undone;    a  sinful  position  before  the  world  is  to  be 

abandoned.     The  nature  of  this  wrong  is  such  that 

29 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

this  can  be  done  only  by  profession.  Profession  with 
words  cannot  adequately  meet  the  requirement.  A 
great  and  solemn  act  alone  can  voice  the  soul's  pro- 
found meaning  and  fitly  carry  it  to  the  world.  Some- 
thing bearing  all  the  characteristics  of  baptism  would 
be  necessary  at  this  point,  even  though  Christ  had  not 
commanded  it.  Baptism  is  not  arbitrary,  but  a  nat- 
ural and  effective  way  of  undoing  such  a  wrong.  It 
lb  the  best  way,  and  has  therefore  been  appointed  by 
Christ  as  tJie  way. 

The  necessity  for  a  positive  requirement  at  this 
point  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated  by  the  past 
history  of  the  church.  The  tendency  to  err  here  has 
been  so  strong  that  even  Christ's  definite  co7nmandhas 
been  perverted  through  the  influence  of  great  errors. 
Had  the  law  of  baptism — the  principle  which  demands 
it — been  faithfully  adhered  to,  it  would  have  held  the 
church  to  such  a  standard  of  spirituality  as  to  have 
rendered  the  dark  and  degraded  past  impossible.  It 
would  have  changed  the  history  of  the  world  for  the 
last  eighteen  centuries. 

It  may  be  added,  that  while  it  is  possible  to  make 
profession  in  more  than  one  way,  Christ  has  chosen 
the  best  way,  and,  for  wise  reasons,  embodied  it  in 
a  positive  command.  In  view  of  this  fact,  he  who 
adopts  some  other  method  is  guilty  of  disobedience 
and  unworthy  of  the  divine  acceptance. 

Baptism  has  been  said  to  effect  a  ^'change  of  state." 

This  is  true,  but  it   is  but  a  part  of   the  truth,  and 

fails  to  take  account  of  its  great  spiritual  and  moral 

uses.     Whether  a   person   shall   enter  the   marriage 

state,  or  become  a  citizen  of  a  certain  government,  is 

a  matter   entirely   optional  with  him.     Not  so  with 

baptism.    It  is  more  than  a  change  of  state;  as  an  act 

30 


THE   RELATION    OF   BAPTISM   TO    PERPETUATED    SINS 

of  profession  it  is  the  abandonment  of  a  sinful  posi- 
tion before  the  world;  it  is  the  termination  of  a  wrong 
against  the  world  and  against  Christ  and  his  kingdom. 
It  is  not  a  mere  formality,  nor  is  it  a  simply  useful 
legal  act.  It  is  a  moral  act,  and  a  moral  act  of  such 
nature  that  he  who  delays  it  is  perpetuating  a  sin 
against  the  world,  and  against  Christ,  and  is  therefore 
unworthy  of  the  divine  pardon. 

It  may  be  thought  a  matter  of  small  importance 
whether  this  wrong  before  the  world  be  undone  be- 
fore or  after  the  pardon,  if  it  be  only  undone  soon. 
If  it  be  but  a  small  matter,  why  be  particular  to  settle 
it  wrong?  It  is  better  to  have  a  small  matter  right 
than  wrong.  But  to  settle  this  question  by  belittling 
it,  is  to  descend  from  the  region  of  the  moral  to 
that  of  the  politic.  Christianity  cannot  afford  to 
adopt  the  methods  of  the  politician.  Moreover,  this 
is  quite  as  important  a  matter  as  that  mentioned  in 
Mt.  V.  22-24,  which,  Christ  taught,  must  cut  off  all 
acceptable  approach  to  God.  The  wrong  order  in 
this  case,  though  probably  involving  less  than  an 
hour's  time,  is  strictly  forbidden,  and  would  be  fatal 
to  the  acceptance. 

If  baptism  be  the  undoing  of  a  wrong — the  putting 
away  of  a  sin — it  follows  that  it  must  succeed  repent- 
ance immediately.  This  is  not  an  optional  matter,  to 
be  determined  by  one's  convenience  or  inclination. 
It  is  a  moral  duty.  The  bond  that  links  baptism  im- 
mediately to  repentance  is  a  moral  one. 

In  perfect  accord  with  this,  we  find  that  such  was 
the  practice  in  the  apostolic  age.  In  the  Acts  of 
Apostles  everywhere  we  find  that  it  was  the  practice 
of  the  primitive  church  to  administer  baptism  imme- 
diately on  repentance.     And  here  we  have  a  striking 

31 


MORAL   AND   SPIRTIUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

confirmation  of  the  position  taken  in  this  discussion* 
Not  only  does  the  entire  language  of  the  Scriptures, 
on  the  subject  of  baptism,  fall  into  line  and  prove  the 
most  happy  expression  of  our  conclusions,  but  we 
find  that  the  practice  which  our  argument  shows  to  be 
necessary  was  the  very  practice  of  the  apostles.  This 
is  not  true  of  the  modern  view  regarding  baptism. 
Not  only  is  much  of  the  language  of  the  Scriptures 
on  the  subject  discarded  from  use,  but  the  practice 
itself  is  strikingly  different.  Baptism  is  not  spoken 
of  as  it  was  then,  nor  performed  tvhen  it  was  then. 
Why  this  change  both  of  language  and  practice,  un- 
less it  be  that  the  modern  view  is  not  that  of  the 
apostles? 

When  Christ  framed  the  law  of  pardon  for  his; 
kingdom,  there  were  several  moral  conditions  to  b«} 
met.  Among  them,  these  three:  (1)  Profession  was 
necessary  to  put  an  end  to  one  of  the  great  sins  of 
the  former  life.  (2)  As  this  profession  was  designed 
to  influence  others  through  throwing  the  weight  of 
one's  character  on  the  side  of  Christ  and  his  king- 
dom, it  was  necessary  that  it  should  be  made  in  a  pro- 
foundly impressive  manner — by  some  act  adequately 
voicing  the  mighty  meaning  of  the  heart.  A  weak 
form  of  profession  must  leave  the  mischief  half 
undone.  (3)  JSTo  time  should  be  allowed  to  elapse 
between  the  offering  of  one's  self  to  God  and  profes- 
sion. A  delay,  however  short,  unless  unavoidable, 
would  involve  a  continuance  in  sin.  If  found  possi- 
ble, moral  law  demanded  that  some  strong  act  of  pro- 
fession should  he  appointed  to  take  place  at  the  verv 
TIME  tvhen  the  soid  offered  itself  up  to  God,  thus  cutting 
off  delay,  and  terminating  continuance  in  sin  at  that 
point.     This  was  deemed  possible,  and  just  this  has 


THE    RELATION    OF    BAPTISM   TO    PERPETUATED    SINS 

been  done.  According  to  divine  appointment,  the 
soul  puts  on  Christ  and  makes  a  profession  of  his 
name  in  the  very  same  act.  The  apostle  says :  "For  as 
many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into  Christ  did  put  on 
Christ"  (Gal.  iii.  27).  So  in  Rom.  vi.  5,  Mt.  xxviii.  19, 
etc.  The  act  by  which  union  with  Christ  is  formed  is 
the  act  by  which  profession  is  made.  There  can  be 
but  one  question.  If  it  he  possible  for  one  to  make  a 
profession  at  the  very  time  that  he  offers  himself  up 
to  God — and  it  is,  and  the  Scriptures  so  regard  it, — it 
is  immoral  for  him  not  to  do  so,  for  delay  is  simply  a 
continuance  in  sin;  and  any  pardon  under  such  con- 
ditions must  also  be  immoral.  In  the  apostolic  age 
baptism  was  administered  on  the  spot — as  soon  as  the 
subject  was  ready  to  give  himself  up  to  Christ. 
Moral  law  demands  that  it  should  be  so,  and  that 
pardon  should  then  be  granted. 

Thus  Christ's  framing  of  the  law  of  pardon  was  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  demands  of  moral  law;  while 
the  modern  view,  by  which  a  man  offers  himself  up  to 
God  as  a  naked  spiritual  act,  and  is  then  pardoned 
while  continuing  in  sin — the  sin  of  non-profession — 
involves  a  clear  violation  of  moral  law. 

But  there  is  one  other  point  to  be  considered. 
Even  when  profession  is  promptly  made,  there  will 
still  be  a  little  time  between  repentance  and  the  act  of 
profession.  If  the  penitent  is  not  delaying  profes- 
sion, but  proceeding  to  attend  to  it  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, it  cannot  be  said  that  he  is  then  committing  any 
wrong.  Though  the  old  wrong  has  not  yet  been 
undone,  he  is  proceeding  to  undo  it  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  and  morally  is  not  continuing  in  sin.  May 
he  not,  then,  receive  pardon  at  this  point?     To  grant 

him  pardon   here  would  not  be  a  direct  violation  of 
3  33 


MOKAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

moral  law;  but  there  are  important  reasons,  and 
even  a  moral  reason,  why  it  should  not  be  done.  To 
place  pardon  at  this  point  would  have  the  effect  to 
discount  the  whole  matter  of  profession  and  lead  to 
its  neglect.  What  is  considered  of  minor  importance 
is  very  likely  to  be  omitted  or  delayed;  and  to  omit 
or  delay  profession  is  to  continue  in  sin. 

The  belief  that  pardon  precedes  profession  has  had 
just  this  effect  throughout  the  Christian  world.  The 
great  act  of  profession  has  been  reduced  to  the  level 
of  a  ceremony,  and  has  been  taken  out  of  conversion 
and  placed  somewhere  on  in  the  Christian  life,  while 
profession  itself  is  popularly  regarded  as  a  matter  of 
secondary  importance  if  the  heart  only  be  right,  and 
deferred  to  suit  the  convert's  convenience  or  inclina- 
tion. Nor  does  the  mischief  of  this  way  of  viewing 
things  end  here.  The  whole  sense  of  obligation  to 
undo  old  wrongs  has  largely  faded  from  the  popular 
mind.  Modern  repentance  generally  pauses  at  put- 
ting a  stop  to  the  positive  commission  of  sin,  without 
reparation  of  the  past,  and  is  therefore  morally  defec- 
tive; for  an  unrepaired  past  is  no  less  damnable  than 
a  sinful  present.  Modern  sentimentalism,  in  its  weak- 
ening of  moral  obligations,  is  not  a  healthy  phase  of 
thought;  and  it  is  this  that  takes  offense  at  baptism 
as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins.  Archbishop 
Trench  says  that  repentance  was  *'a  far  more  serious 
thing  in  the  early  church"  than  it  is  now — and  with 
good  reason;  for  divine  acceptance  w^as  not  then 
thought  to  depend  on  a  simple  state  of  feeling,  but 
old  wrongs  had  to  be  undone  before  the  sinner  was 
welcomed  to  the  divine  favor. 

Thus  there  is  a  grave  moral  reason  why  the  gospel 

should  not  place  the  bestowment  of  pardon  before 

34 


THE    RELATION    OF   BAPTISM   TO    PERPETUATED    SINS 

profession.  It  encourages  a  view  of  things  fraught 
with  serious  moral  consequences.  It  weakens  the 
moral  power  of  the  gospel  by  removing  reparation 
from  among  the  antecedent  conditions  of  divine 
acceptance,  and  favors  habits  of  thought  that  tend 
to  make  repentance  superficial.  The  "method  of 
inwardness"  can  be  overdone. 

The  principle  here  enunciated  finds  fitting  illustra- 
tion in  a  decision  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  Was  it  right 
for  Paul  to  eat  meat  offered  to  idols?  Yes,  and  no. 
The  eating  of  the  meat  was  not  in  itself  wrong,  but  it 
would  lead  others  to  do  wrong;  and  this  fact  made  it 
wrong, — Paul  says,  a  sin  (I.  Cor.  viii.  12, 13).  Would 
it  be  right  for  God  to  ordain  that  pardon  shall  be 
bestowed  just  before  profession?  Yes,  and  no.  The 
pardon  itself  would  not  be  a  violation  of  moral  law  if 
the  penitent  were  proceeding  to  make  profession 
without  delay,  but  the  effect  of  such  a  provision 
would  be  to  cause  men  to  delay,  which  would  be  a 
continuance  in  sin;  and  this  fact  would  render  the 
provision  immoral  in  tendency.  The  law  of  pardon 
should  not  be  so  framed  as  to  cause  men  to  continue 
in  sin,  even  for  a  short  time. 

Christianity    makes    the    undoing  of    all   wrongs, 

whenever  possible,  a  condition  of  divine  acceptance. 

Baptism  as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins  is  but  one 

of  the  applications  of  this  law.     And  all  this  is  as  it 

should  be. 

35 


PART  11. 

SPIRITUAL   NATURE   AND  USES  OF  BAPTIS>^ 


Division  !♦ 

BAPTISM  AS  A  SPIRITUAL  ACT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BAPTISM  ANSWEKS  TO  A  NEED  OF  THE  HEART. 

When  Christ  reclined  at  meat  iu  tlie  house  of  Si- 
mon the  Pharisee  a  woman  that  was  a  sinner  entered 
bearing  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and,  standing 
behind  him  weeping,  began  to  wash  his  feet  with  her 
tears,  and  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head,  and 
kissed  his  feet  and  anointed  them  with  ointment.  No 
word  had  as  yet  been  spoken,  but  there  was  a  frown 
on  the  Pharisee's  face.  Christ,  perceiving  this,  ad- 
dressed him,  and,  referring  to  the  act  of  the  woman, 
proceeded  to  give  him  one  of  his  most  searching  les- 
sons. Then,  turning  to  the  woman,  he  pronounced 
her  sins  forgiven. 

Facts  are  great  teachers,  and  this  touching  incident 
is  like  a  jewel  flashing  its  light  from  many  facets. 

Christ  drew  forth  one  of  its  lessons.  Let  us  con- 
sider another.  In  order  to  do  this,  let  us  try  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  this  woman's  act. 

Let  us  notice,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  had  not  been 
commanded.  It  was  not  done  under  the  stress  of  au- 
thority.    It  was  purely  spontmieous.     Let  us  observe, 

also,  that  it  was  not  an  act  of  ittility.     She  sought  in 

36 


BAPTISM  ANSWERS  TO  A  NEED  OF  THE  HEART 

it  no  benefit  to  herself,  and  expected  to  confer  none 
upon  Christ.  It  was  simpl}' an  act  of  expression.  Let 
us  note,  also,  that  it  was  done  in  the  face  of  obstacles: 
She  knew  that  she  would  not  be  welcome  in  the  house 
of  the  Pharisee,  and  that  her  presence  would  be  con- 
sidered a  contamination,  and  would  excite  his  anger. 
Yet  she  broke  through  all  these  obstacles  to  perform 
the  act.  There  was  some  strong  force  behind  it.  It 
was  by  a  whirlwind  of  the  heart  that  she  was  carried 
to  the  feet  of  Christ. 

We  have  here,  therefore,  a  spontaneous  act  of  ex- 
pression^ done  under  the  force  of  a  deep  heart-neces- 
sity. Before  inquiring  its  significance,  let  us  observe 
further  that  this  act  does  not  stand  alone,  but  is  only 
one  of  a  sisterhood  of  similar  acts  to  be  met  with  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  climes,  and  springing  from  a 
divinely  implanted  law  of  the  human  heart. 

As  you  stand  in  the  presence  of  death,  what  means 
the  eager  kiss  that  you  press  upon  the  dear  cold  face? 
It  is  not  co)nnianded ;  it  is  not  useful.  You  may  be 
very  poor,  but  you  divide  your  loaf  that  you  may  pro- 
vide a  casket  in  which  the  cold  form  of  your  loved 
one  may  be  laid.  You  cover  it  with  flowers  and  leave 
its  jewels  upon  it.  You  hire  carriages  to  bear  it  to 
the  city  of  the  dead,  and  tenderly,  reverently,  and  in 
holy  sorrow,  lay  it  to  rest.  Every  town  has  its  loJiite 
city,  whose  monuments  are  only  useful  as  expressions 
of  love. 

Lately  a  princess  was  watching  at  the  bedside  of  her 

little  child,  dying  of  diphtheria.    "Kiss  me,  mamma," 

said  the  little  one.   The  conflict  in  the  mother's  breast 

was  a  short  one.    She  bent,  and,  with  swimming  eyes, 

pressed  her  lips  to  those  of  her  dying  bal)e,  and  drank 

the  fatal  poison  that  was  to  cost  her  her  life.     What 

37 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

theology  is  this?  Who  taught  that  baby  to  yearn  for 
that  simple  rite  of  love?  And  who  laid  upon  the 
mother's  heart  a  necessity  to  give  it  that  was  stronger 
than  life?     Ah!  this  is  holy  ground;  God  is  here. 

The  need  for  acts  of  expression  is  not  confined  to 
the  more  passionate  emotions.  The  modern  nations 
are  cold  and  practical,  but  hand-shaking  is  well-nigh 
universal.  True,  it  is  a  custom,  but  it  has  nothing  in 
it  of  the  tyranny  of  custom,  and  can  be  omitted  with- 
out any  breach  of  etiquette.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of 
inclination,  and  it  exists  only  because  the  human  heart 
beats  beneath  it.  Free  and  unconstrained,  it  is  a  gen- 
uine expression  of  the  heart's  true  feeling.  Its  exist- 
ence shows  that  God  has  implanted  in  us  a  craving  for 
such  expression. 

Now,  what  is  the  explanation  of  all  this?  It  means 
that  words  are  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  the 
heart.  The  feeling  overflows  them  into  action — and 
that,  the  action  of  expression.  Such  is  the  voiced 
need  of  the  soul. 

But  the  kiss  of  affection  and  the  hand-shake  are 
more  than  simple  acts  of  expression.  They  are  acts 
of  communion  as  well — of  spiritual  commerce — of  the 
interflow  of  souls.  They  are  the  rushing  together  of 
two  personalities,  and  they  impart  a  sense  of  together- 
ness that  words  cannot  compass.  Explain  it  as  you 
may,  such  acts  are  avenues  of  personal  nearness,  which 
are  universally  craved^  needed  and  used;  and  they  w^ill 
endure  as  long  as  the  human  heart  continues  to  feel. 
It  is  not  true,  however,  that  an  abundance  of  forms 
and  ceremonies  is  demanded  by  the  laws  of  the  human 
soul.  They  can  never  be  filled  by  the  heart,  and  tend 
to  the  cultivation  of  formalism  and  hypocrisy.     Eitu- 

alism,  whether  in  society  or  religion,  is  not  conducive 

38 


BAPTISM   ANSWERS    TO    A   NEED    OF     THE   HEART 

to  a  healthy  heart-life;  but  a  few  simple  acts,  such  as 
lie  close  to  the  soul's  true  life,  will  continue  to  be  de- 
manded as  long  as  love  itself  shall  endure. 

So  great  is  this  need,  that  the  effort  to  deny  the 
heart  these  natural  outflows  of  its  life  into  acts  of 
expression,  tends  to  stifle  the  affections  themselves 
from  which  they  spring,  and  in  no  life  are  such  acts 
entirely  absent  that  is  not  already  frozen  in  selfishness. 
As  our  chief  method  of  overcoming  temptation  is  to 
deny  evil  desires  their  gratification,  so  the  denial  of 
the  nobler  spontaneities  of  our  nature  tends  to  weaken 
and  wither  them. 

The  case  of  the  "woman  that  was  a  sinner"  was  a 
case  of  conversion.  We  know  this  because  Christ 
pronounced  her  sins  forgiven.  She  had  heard  the 
words  of  Christ,  and  they  had  stirred  her  at  strange 
depths.  His  very  presence  had  awakened  in  her  a  sus- 
picion of  divinity.  There  had  been  strange  movings 
in  her  soul.  The  lame  Lemnian  was  turning  uneasily 
beneath  her  mountain  load  of  sin.  Night  had  come, 
but  she  had  not  slept.  Like  a  voice  from  the  tomb, 
the  tones  of  conscience  were  heard  pealing  forth  their 
menace.  She  had  sought  peace  by  hushing  them,  but 
chords  had  been  struck  which  could  never  again  be 
still.  The  powers  of  two  worlds  were  in  conflict 
within  her  soul.  There  is  battle,  and,  at  last,  the  vic- 
tory of  repentance. 

A  new  passion  has  mastered.  A  new  life  has  risen 
up.  It  is  sunrise  in  her  dark  heart, — the  first  her 
blind  eyes  have  ever  seen, — a  glorious,  new  surprise  of 
being.  She  cannot  speak.  Words  seem  mockery. 
And  now  she  has  a  new  hunger — to  pour  out  her  soul 
in  an  act  of  silent  gratitude  at  the  feet  of  her  Re- 
deemer.   She  seeks  her  opportunity ;  she  rushes  in  ;  she 

39 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

does  it.     Christ  blesses  it — she  has  found  heaven. 

But  what  of  others  who  shall  in  like  manner  travel 
this  way  during  the  centuries  to  come?  As  they  gain 
the  new  victory,  and  thrill  with  the  new  life,  shall 
they  not  also  feel  the  new  hunger  for  an  act  of  conse- 
cration? But  there  are  now  no  longer  any  blessed  feet 
to  clasp,  or  any  voice  to  declare  their  sins  forgiven. 
The  Master  is  no  longer  here.  Where  shall  now  the 
answer  be  to  this  cry  of  the  new-born  life?  Shall  our 
human  loves  find  their  longed-for  expression,  while 
the  cravings  of  this  divine  one  are  stifled? 

There  is  an  answer — Baptism.  In  it  the  soul  may 
fall  at  Christ's  feet  in  holy  love  and  self-commitment, 
breaking  the  sweet  alabaster  box  of  the  heart  there. 
It  is  no  empty  formality,  but  its  foundations  lie  deep 
in  the  needs  of  the  human  soul — needs  that  rise  im- 
portunate at  this  period  of  the  soul-history. 

Nor  has  baptism  only  its  human  side,  like  the  pas- 
sionate kiss  upon  the  cold  face  of  the  dead.  It  is  an 
act  of  spiritual  interflow,  a  rushing  together  of  two 
personalities.  The  penitent  is  "baptized  into  Christ," 
and  Christ,  in  his  Spirit,  comes  into  the  soul,  and  be- 
stows the  assurance  of  sonship  and  of  remission.  A 
togetherness  is  reached  more  intimate  than  that  of  any 
human  relation;  ive  in  him  and  he  in  us.  Peter  de- 
clares on  the  day  of  Pentecost  that  this  meeting  and 
uniting  with  Christ  (in  the  reception  of  the  Holy 
Spirit)  in  baptism  is  the  way  divinely  ordained  for  all 
time  and  for  all  peoples. 

Thus  a  real  heart-need  in  reaching  God  is  satisfied, 

and  baptism  appears  as  no  arbitrary  appointment,  but 

the  answer  to  a  new-born  hunger  in  the  soul. 

Will  it  be  said  that   modern   nations  are  cold  and 

practical,  and  do  not  feel  this  need?  Let  it  be  remem- 

40 


BAPTISM  ANSWERS  TO  A  NEED  OF  THE  HEART 

bered  that  a  cold  and  practical  conversion  is  not 
a  Christian  conversion.  This  commercial  age  cannot 
transform  conversion  into  a  business  transaction. 
Salvation  is  not  a  bargain.  Unless  there  be  a  spir- 
itual quickening,  there  can  be  no  conversion.  Be- 
sides, modern  nations  are  not  so  cold  and  practical 
that  they  dispense  with  all  social  rites  of  human  affec- 
tion. He  who  feels  no  such  need  in  his  conversion 
has  grave  cause  for  self-examination. 

To  take  baptism  out  of  its  proper  place  is  to  de- 
prive the  heart  of  the  answer  to  a  felt  need,  and  ren- 
der the  ordinance  in  large  part  useless,  transforming 
it  into  an  empty  formality.  When  the  father  saw  the 
returning  prodigal  afar  off,  and  ran  and  fell  on  his 
neck  and  kissed  him,  had  the  embrace  and  the  kiss 
been  denied  in  the  greeting,  the  deprivation  would 
have  been  painful.  The  greeting  would  have  but 
mocked  his  feelings,  and,  in  its  coldness,  been  false  to 
the  situation.  If,  then,  the  embrace  and  passionate 
kiss  had  come  six  months  later,  it  would  have  been 
little  better  than  an  empty  formality,  equally  repel- 
lant  to  both  parties. 

Such  a  misplacing  of  baptism  is  responsible  for 
much  of  the  disregard  in  which  it  is  held.  Robbed  of 
its  natural  uses,  and  placed  in  unseemly  positions,  it 
loses  its  hold  upon  the  human  heart,  and  clings  to 
Christianity  as  a  useless  appendage,  held  there  only 
by  force  of  divine  authority;  tolerated  for  Christ's 
sake  rather  than  welcomed  as  an  answer  to  a  deep 
spiritual  yearning.  It  thus  becomes  a  stumbling  block 
alike  to  the  reason  and  to  the  heart,  and  a  bone  of 
contention  in  the  church. 

What  a  pity  that  this  holy  trysting-place  of  the  soul 

with  Christ  should   have  become   the  battle-field  of 

41 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

centuries,  until  the  very  word  smells  of  the  smoke  of 

battle!    Is  there  nothing  too  sacred  for  the  battle-ax? 

When  shall  the  grass  grow  again  on  this  Gettysburg  of 

the  ages?     When  shall  birds  sing  there  again,  and  its 

beauty  and  loveliness  return?     When  shall  this  word 

become  again  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  language? 

Simple   immersion   does  not  suffice  to  restore  the 

primitive  baptism.     Not  until  its  investiture  with  its 

old  associations  and  tenderness  can  baptism,  rendered 

holy  by  the  sublimest  emotions  of  the  human  heart, 

be  again  what  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

42 


CHAPTER  II. 

BAPTISM   NOT   A   MERE    OUTWARD   ACT. 

*'Views  of  baptisFTi  as  a  mere  external  and  bodily 
act  exert  a  very  injurious  influence  on  the  understand- 
ing and  practice  of  men." — Alexander  Cainpbell. 

Probably  the  most  fertile  of  all  sources  of  error 
in  reasoning  is  that  of  false  definition,  and  that  a  defi- 
nition may  tyrannize  over  whole  ages  of  thought,  is 
one  of  the  remarkable  facts  of  history. 

It  has  been  common  to  speak  of  baptism  as  *'a  mere 
outward  act,"  and  in  this  light  it  is,  no  doubt,  gener- 
ally regarded.  From  this  estimate  certain  conclusions 
naturally  follow,  which  render  it  necessary  to  place 
strained  interpretations  on  various  passages  of  Script- 
ure, and  which  require  baptism  to  occupy  a  very  dif- 
ferent place  in  the  divine  economy  from  that  assigned 
to  it  in  the  apostolic  church.  If,  therefore,  this  esti- 
mate be  not  a  correct  one,  it  is  far  from  harmless. 

§  1.     The  Nature  of  a  Mere  Outward  Act. 

Let  us  now  look  carefully  into  the  meaning  of  the 

phrase  "a  mere  outward  act."    There  can  be  no  doubt 

that  the  contortions  of  the  epileptic  are  mere  outward 

acts,  that  is,  the  mind  has  nothing  to  do  with  them; 

they  are  purely  physical.     Again,  a  man  in  his  sleep 

may  fall   into  the  water  and  be  rescued  by  another. 

Here,  also,  we  have  a  mere  outward  act.     The  man's 

mind    has    nothing   to   do   with    it.     But,    if    asked 

whether  or  not  this  is  baptism,  every  one  would  answer 

unhesitatingly,    No.     Even     though     the    immersion 

were  administered  in  all  due  form,  it  would  not  alter 

the  case;   nor   would  it  matter  by  wdiom  performed, 

43 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

if  the  candidate  be  unconscious  no  one  would  accord 
to  it  the  dignity  of  baptism.  Thus  it  appears  that  the 
physical  act  may  possess  every  possible  perfection, 
and  yet  we  are  immediately  conscious  that  it  is  not 
Christian  baptism. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  claimed  that  baptism  itself  is  a  mere 
outward  act,  but  that  it  stands  related  to  certain  spir- 
itual activities  of  the  soul.  I  shall  not  stay  to  show  the 
confusion  of  thought  involved  in  such  a  statement, 
but  will  simply  say  that  the  act  itself  can  not  be 
merely  external,  as  will  appear  from  another  exam- 
ple. A  sailor  dives  into  the  sea,  rises  to  the  surface 
and  returns  to  his  boat.  What  kind  of  act  is 
this?  Just  what  has  taken  place?  It  is  plain  that 
there  has  been  an  immersion.  But  this  is  not  all: 
there  has  been  a  conative  act  of  the  mind — an  act  of 
the  will.  There  has  been  more,  but  I  am  at  present 
concerned  only  with  this.  Without  this,  there  could 
have  been  no  diving;  and  this  mental  act  does  not 
simply  stand  related  to  the  immersion,  but  the  two 
form  one  act.  Suppose  you  are  told  that  the  man 
was  unconscious.  You  will  at  once  say  that  he  did 
not  dive,  but  fell  in ;  that  is,  it  ceases  to  be  an  act, 
and  becomes  an  accident.  The  mental  act  is  neces- 
sary to  the  very  conception  of  diving — a  part  of  the 
very  meaning  of  the  word.  Take  that  out,  and  you 
cannot  apply  the  word  dive  to  the  act;  and  what  is 
true  of  this  is  true  of  every  other  word  implying 
agency.  In  short,  it  is  simply  impossible  for  an  intel- 
ligent agent  to  perform  "a  mere  outward  act."  Take 
the  mental  factor  out  of  it,  and  it  may  take  place  by 
some  other  means,  but  it  can  in  no  sense  whatever  be 
his  act.     There  are  acts  that   are   purely  mental,  or 

spiritual,  and  there  are  acts  that  are  both  mental  and 

44 


BAPTISM   NOT    A    IMERE    OUTWARD    ACT 

physical,  bat  there  are  no  merely  physical  acts  in 
human  agency.  Every  act  of  an  intelligent  agent  has 
its  mental  factor,  which  is  necessary  to  its  very  exist- 
ence, and  forms  a  part  of  the  act  itself,  and  of  the 
meaning  of  the  word  which  designates  it. 

Christian  baptism  is  the  act  of  an  intelligent  agent, 
and  therefore  must  have  its  mental  factor,  which  is 
necessary  to,  and  forms  a  part  of,  the  act  itself. 
There  is  more  of  the  Mississippi  River  than  at  that 
point  where  it  billows  into  the  sea.  Far  up  among 
the  mountains  it  is  still  the  Mississippi.  There  is 
more  of  baptism  than  what  passes  into  sight.  It 
reaches  into  the  sublimest  altitudes  of  the  soul,  and  is 
baptism  there  as  truly  as  where  it  leaps  into  the  visible. 

To  return  to  the  case  of  the  sailor.  Externally,  his 
act  is  immersion;  internally,  it  may  be  any  one  of 
many  mental  acts,  moral,  immoral,  or  indifferent.  It 
may  be  merely  sportive,  or  it  may  be  to  save  another's 
life,  or  something  else.  Were  it  any  of  these,  not- 
withstanding the  immersion,  it  could  not  be  baptism, 
for  the  reason  that  none  of  them  constitutes  that 
specific  mental  act  which  forms  the  spiritual  part  of 
baptism. 

We  stand  now  face  to  face  with — what?  For  cen- 
turies the  question.  What  constitutes  visible  baptism? 
has  been  hotly  discussed,  and  an  extensive  literature 
has  grown  up  about  it;  but.  What  constitutes  the  spir- 
itual half  of  baptism?  Where  is  the  literature  on 
this?  Where  is  the  book  on  it?  Nay,  if  the  question 
be  asked,  how^  many  can  answer  it?  And  yet,  it  is 
speaking  very  moderately  to  say  that  this  question  is, 
at  least,  as  important  as  the  other.  The  spiritual  part 
of    baptism — wdiat    is    it?     What    is    its    character; 

what,  its  status;   what,  its  importance?   It  is  a  ques- 

45 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

tion   of  great   moment.     But  before  answering  this, 
there  is  another  question  which  claims  our  attention. 

%  2.     A  Question  in  Philology. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  word  representing  bap- 
tism, in  the  Greek  language,  signifies  simply  a  dipping, 
or  immersion,  of  objects,  animate  or  inanimate,  and 
with  no  regard  to  how  it  is  brought  about.  It  may 
be  simply  a  physical  occurrence.  Why,  then,  should 
the  word  have,  in  the  New  Testament,  a  larger  mean- 
ing? It  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  this  comes  about 
through  a  well  known  law  of  language;  viz.,  that 
when  words  are  appropriated  from  a  general  to  a 
specific  use  they  take  on  added  and  specific  meanings. 
To  illustrate;  The  English  word  elder  means  simply 
an  older  person ;  but,  when  used  to  designate  an  ofli- 
cer  in  the  church,  it  signifies  much  more.  The 
amount  of  the  added  meaning  it  thus  gains  will  be 
found  embraced  in  the  description  of  the  qualifica- 
tions and  duties  of  an  elder.  In  like  manner,  the 
Greek  word  7rpec7-^i;repos  (translated  *' elder")  meant,  in 
its  classical  use,  simply  an  older  man;  but,  as  applied 
to  an  officer  in  tho  primitive  church,  it  took  on  a 
volume  of  additional  and  specific  meaning  embraced 
in  Paul's  description  of  the  qualifications  and  duties 
of  that  officer.  The  same  is  true  of  the  word  aide?'- 
man,  from  the  Anglo-Saxon,  which  originally  signified 
simply  an  older  man.  A  striking  example  of  this  law  is 
presented  in  the  word  Christ.  Xpl(tt6<s,  tho  Greek  word 
for  Christ,  means  simply  anointed;  and  6  Xpto-ro?  (the 
Christ),  simply  one  who  has  been  anointed,  or  taken 
an  oil  bath,  so  common'in  our  sanitariums.  Now, 
when  applied  to  designate  the  Savior  of  men,  what 
an  enormous  increment  of  meaning  this  word  re- 
ceives I     From  a  mustard  seed,  it  rises  to  a  vast  tree, 

46 


BAPTISM    NOT   A   MERE    OUTWARD    ACT 

lifting  its  boughs  to  heaven  and  sheltering  in  its 
branches  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Who  can  tell  how 
much  the  word  Christ  means  to  the  world  to-day? — 
how  much  to  the  Christian? — how  much  to  the  dying 
saint?  To  compass  its  meaning,  you  must  exhaust 
the  Scriptures,  sweep  through  the  vast  fields  of 
human  experience,  unravel  the  history  of  nineteen 
centuries,  and  even  ascend  into  heaven  and  learn  the 
seraphic  import  of  that  Name  which  is  above  every 
other  name. 

As  were  these  words,  so  was  baptism  appropriated 
from  a  general  to  a  specific,  religious  use,  and,  by 
the  same  law  of  language,  took  on  additional  mean- 
ing. That  meaning  will  be  found  embraced  in  the 
descriptions  of  the  act,  and  the  use  of  the  word,  in 
the  New  Testament. 

To  cut  the  word  elder  down  to  the  simple  meaning 
of  an  older  man  would  be  to  ignore  the  office  of  the 
eldership;  to  restrict  the  word  a/c?e7'ma?i  to  the  gen- 
eral meaning  of  an  older  man  would  be  to  ignore  the 
aldermancy;  to  cut  the  word  Christ  down  to  the 
measure  of  its  classical  signification,  as  a  person  who 
has  been  anointed,  or  taken  an  oil  bath,  would  be  to 
sweep  Christianity  out  of  existence.  In  like  manner, 
to  cut  baptism  down  to  its  mere  classical  signification 
of  immersion,  is  to  sweep  Christian  baptism  out  of 
existence. 

The  long  and  heated  controversy  of  centuries  re- 
garding the  physical  meaning  of  the  word  has  fixed 
attention  almost  exclusively  upon  that  point,  and 
done  much  to  educate  the  public  mind  in  material 
conceptions  of  baptism.  This  mischief  can  only  be 
undone  by  a  long  and  persistent  setting  forth  of  the 
lofty  spiritual  meanings  which  the  word  received  on 

its  adoption  into  the  family  of  Christian  terms. 

47 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE  SPIRITUAL  ELEMENT  IN  BAPTISM. 

§  1.     The,  Final  Spiritual  Step  in  Conversion. 

We  saw  in  the  last  chapter  (1)  that  baptism  is  not 
a  ipere  outward  act,  and  (2)  that  it  is  possible  for  im- 
mersion to  be  the  outflow  of  certain  tnental  acts,  and 
still  not  constitute  Christian  baptism.  It  is  the  task 
of  the  present  chapter  to  discover  what  is  that  specific 
inental  act,  which,  conjoined  with  immersion  in  loater, 
constitutes  Christian  baptism. 

In  order  to  do  this,  let  us  first  take  our  stand  with- 
in the  soul,  and  notice  what  are  the  necessary  mental 
steps  taken  in  conversion. 

The  onus  of  the  evangelistic  preaching  of  the  apos- 
tles was  the  demonstration  of  the  divinity  and  Mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus.  It  was  their  first  object  to  pro- 
duce a  belief  of  this  fact.  When,  therefore,  the 
hearer  had  come  to  believe  this,  he  had  taken  the  first 
step  in  his  conversion.  Repentance,  the  second  step, 
may  be  defined  as  a  spiritual  change  issuing  in  a  reso- 
lution to  become  a  follower  of  Christ. 

Now,  do  these  two  steps,  belief  and  repentance, 
comprise  all  the  mantal  steps  which  constitute  con- 
version? I  answer,  they  do  not.  The  resolutiori  to 
take  Christ  is  not  taking  Christ.  The  act  of  resolving 
to  do  a  thing,  is  not  doing  it.  This  is  as  true  of 
mental  acts,  as  of  those  usually  regarded  as  physical. 
A  man  may  resolve  to  apply  his  mind  to  the  study  of 
a  particular  subject,  yet  he  may  not  do  the  studying 
till  long  after.  The  same  holds  true  regarding  cer- 
tain  steps  involving  an   exercise  of  the   will.     They 

48 


THE    SPIRITUAL    ELEMENT    IN    BAPTISM 

may  be  decided  upon  before  they  are  taken.  Nay, 
they  must  be.  The  hearts  of  two  young  persons  be- 
come changed  toward  each  other,  and  they  resolve  to 
take  each  other  as  husband  and  wife;  but  they  have 
not  yet  done  so,  even  mentally.  When  the  clergyman 
marries  them,  he  does  not  ask  them  if  they  have 
already  taken  each  other  as  man  and  wife — some 
time  before.  He  knows  they  have  not,  and  there- 
fore says,  ''jDo  you  take  this  woman?"  and,  ''Do  you 
take  this  man?"  etc.  They  have  not  3'et  taken  this 
step,  even  mentally,  although  they  may  have  long  ago 
resolved  to  do  so;  and  they  can  never  be  married 
without  taking  it.  Any  ceremony  would  be  invalid,  if 
one  of  the  parties  were  unconscious,  and  that,  simply 
because  the  mental  step  could  not  be  taken.  Mar- 
riage involves  an  act  of  the  will,  and  yet  it  may  be, 
nay,  must  be,  decided   upon  before  the  step  is  taken. 

A  man  may  repent  of  his  sins,  and  resolve  to  be- 
come a  follower  of  Christ;  but  he  has  not  yet  done 
so.  The  resolution  to  take  Christ  is  not  taking  him. 
The  man  needs  to  reach  the  point  where  he  shall  say, 
not  simply,  "I  z{?«7/ take  Christ,"  but  where  he  shall 
say  to  Christ,  "1  noio  come  to  thee,  taking  thee  as 
my  Savior,  and  consecrate  myself  to  thy  service." 

These  steps  are  not  the  same,  but  mark  successive 

stages  in  the  process  of  conversion.     The  one  is  pur- 

pose;  the  other  is  fact.     Conversion  is  not  atheistic — 

a  mere  turning  to  right  in  the  abstract — but  has  to  do 

with   a  personal   God;     and  entrance  into   covenant 

with    God    cannot    be    accomplished    by    any    mere 

"change  of  purpose,"  however  worthy.     The  mental 

act  of  forming  a  purxoose  and  the  mental  act  of  giving 

one's  self  to  another  may  stand  related  as  cause  and 

effect,  but  they  cannot  be  the  same.     The  one  is  in- 
\  49 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

dividual,  the  other  social;  the  one  takes  place  ivithin 
07ie/sself,  the  other  takes  place  in  connection  nntJi  an- 
other. 

These  two  steps  stand  out  clearly  in  the  conversion 
of  the  Prodigal  Son.  His  repentance  took  place 
within  himself  and  reached  its  consummation  in  the 
saying,  "1  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father."  The  next 
step  occurs  after  he  has  reached  his  father,  and  con- 
sists in  his  contrite  self-commitment  and  plea  for  ac- 
ceptance; and  could  only  take  place  in  the  presence 
of,  and  in  relation  to,  his  father.  The  first  step  was 
individual ;  the  other  was  social.  The  first  found  its 
expression  in  soliloquy — speech  to  one's  self;  the 
other  found  its  expression  in  colloquy — speech  to  an- 
other. They  are  both  equally  steps  of  the  mind,  but 
they  are  different  in  nature  and  in  the  time  of  their 
occurrence,  though  taking  place  as  nearly  together  as 
circumstances  would  permit.  The  7nental  steps  of 
the  prodigal's  return  to  a  better  life  did  not  end  with 
his  repentance,  but  with  his  covenaiiting .  These  steps 
stand  clearly  related  to  each  other,  but  they  are  by  no 
means  the  same.  Both  are  alike  mental  acts  and 
spiritual  steps  in  conversion;  but  one  is  individual, 
the  other  social.  One  takes  place  within  one's  self; 
the  other  goes  out  to  another.  The  one  in  cause;  the 
other  efect.  The  one  precedes;  the  other  follows. 
The  one  is  pi(?po5e;  the  other  fact.  One  brings  to 
the  tlireshold  of    a  new  life;    the  other  takes  into  it. 

The  distinction  between  these  two  steps  is  recog- 
nized in  the  phraseology  of  Scripture.  Paul  says 
(Acts  xxvi.  20)  that  he  has  taught  everywhere,  that 
men  should  "repent  and  turn  to  God."  *'Repent  and 
turn" — two  distinct  acts.     The  repentance  is  within 

one's  self,  terminating   in    purpose.     The  turning  to 

50 


THE    SPIRITUAL   ELEMENT    IN   BAPTISM 

God  is  social — the  going  forth  of  the  mind  to  anoth- 
er. The  acts  are  equally  spiritual,  but  they  are 
different. 

Other  passages  make  a  simihir  distinction,  and  indi- 
cate that  repentance  is  regarded  as  stopping  just 
short  of  a  pivotal  step,  which  constitutes  the  final 
spiritual  turning-point  in  conversion — ih.Q  mental  actu- 
alization of  i\iQ  purpose  of  repentance,  an  actual  com- 
ing to  God. 

If  we  consider  this  turning  to  be  an  overt  act,  it 
remains  no  less  a  mental  act.  Bereft  of  its  men- 
tal factor,  it  could  be  nothing  more  than  a  meaning- 
less form.  Nay,  it  would  cease  even  to  be  an  act 
at  all. 

This  final  step — this  mental  act — looks  in  many 
directions.  It  is  a  self-giving  and  a  Ohrist-tahing. 
As  regards  the  old  life,  it  is  a  leave-taking ;  as  regards 
the  new,  an  embracing.  As  regards  the  promised 
blessings  of  pardon  and  divine  indwelling,  it  is  a 
prayer  for  these — a  seeking.  It  is  an  act  full  of 
aspiration,  resolve,  emotion,  prayer.  It  is  the  con- 
summating spiritual  step  of  conversion,  to  which  the 
belief  and  repentance  have  been  leading  up,  and 
without  which  they  must  fail  of  their  object.  It  is 
the  blossom  on  the  tree  of  an  awakened  heart,  and 
the  prophecy  of  a  life  of  holy  fruitage.  It  is  the 
epochal  act  of  the  human  spirit,  from  which  date  all 
its  sublime  heroisms  and  all  its  divine  activities.  It 
is  the  mighty  event  of  the  soul,  stirring  its  holiest 
emotions  to  their  profoundest  depths. 

§  2.     The   Divinely  Appointed  Investiture   of  this 

Spiritual  8tep>. 

Such  an  act,  by  a  deep  instinct  of  our  nature,  will 

51 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

seek   external    embodiiiient,   and    will   gain    thereby 
greater  definiteness  and  power. 

Everywhere,  and  in  all  ages,  strong  emotions  of 
love,  great  acts  of  dedication,  and  important  acts  of 
covenant,  have  taken  on  external  form,  in  accordance 
with  a  universal  law  of  human  nature  demanding  it. 
This  great  spiritual  act  belongs  to  all  these  classes, 
and  exemplifies  them  in  the  highest  degree. 

Let  us  now  ask  the  questions:  What  is  this  act 
called  in  the  Scriptures?  and  has  it  been  provided 
with  any  external  embodiment?  Can  it  be  found  rep- 
resented by  any  gospel  term?  and  have  the  demands 
of  its  nature  for  embodiment  been  satisfied? 

In  I.  Pet.  iii.  21,  the  apostle  declares  that  baptism 
is  "not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh, 
but  the  interrogation  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God"  (R.  v.).  The  common  version  reads  "answer" 
instead  of  "interrogation,"  and  the  literal  meaning 
of  the  original  is  an  asking.  With  the  interpretation 
of  this  passage  I  am  not  at  present  concerned,  further 
than  to  notice  that,  according  to  any  of  these  read- 
ings, baptism  is  here  declared  to  be  a  mental  as  well 
as  a  physical  act,  and  that  the  mental  part  is  the  very 
heart  of  it.  The  terms  "answer,"  "interrogation," 
and  "asking"  all  express  acts  of  the  mind.  Baptism 
was  therefore  regarded  in  the  apostolic  age  as  a  men- 
tal as  well  as  a  physical  act.  Again,  when  speaking 
of  its  purpose,  it  was  the  habit  of  the  New  Testament 
writers  to  follow  the  word  baptize  by  the  preposition 
CIS  {into)^  indicating  that  it  was  an  act  of  transition — 
a  mental  step  forward  into  something  wherein  the 
person  did  not  before  stand.  The  penitent  is  said  to 
be  baptized  into  Christ,  into  the  remission  of   sins, 

etc.     Whatever  it  may  mean  to  be  "in  Christ,"  that 

52 


THE   SPIRITUAL   ELEMENT    IN   BAPTISM 

condition  is  said  to  be  reached  in  baptism.  But  that 
spiritual  goal  can  only  be  reached  by  a  spiritual  step; 
therefore  baptism  is  a  spiritual  step — the  journey  of 
the  soul  "into  Christ." 

In  Gal.  iii.  27,  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  putting  on  of 
Christ,  as  a  garment:  "For,  as  many  of  you  as  were 
baptized  into  Christ,  did  put  on  Christ." 

It  is  also  represented  as  a  burying  away  from  the 
old  life  and  a  rising  to  the  new  (Rom.  vi.  3-5.)  It 
is  said  to  be  "the  interrogation  [literally,  asking']  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God"  (I.  Pet.  iii.  21). 
When  comparing  this  language  with  another  state- 
ment of  Peter  (Acts  ii.  38),  we  are  probably  safe  in 
concluding,  with  Lange,  that  baptism  is  2i  prayer  of  the 
soul  for  pardon  and  divine  acceptance — for  a  con- 
science freed  from  its  sense  of  guilt.  If  so,  what  more 
natural  than  that  it  should  be  followed  by  the  remis- 
sion of  sins?  I  may  add  that  it  is  not  simply  an 
single  act  of  obedience,  but  that,  in  its  consecration, 
it  holds  capsulate  all  obedience. 

All  these  Scriptures  describe  something  that,  in  its 
very  nature,  is  a  mental  act,  and  declare  precisely  what 
that  act  is.  Do  they  declare  the  literal  truth,  or,  as 
with  many,  must  the  language  be  interpreted  symbol- 
ically? This  will  be  more  fully  considered* in  another 
place,  but  it  may  here  be  said  that  such  a  view  in- 
volves difficulties  of  interpretation  of  the  gravest 
character,  and  results  in  the  practical  exclusion  from 
use  of  the  great  body  of  the  language  of  the  Scrip- 
tures on  the  subject  of  baptism.  The  Scriptures  de- 
clare that  baptism  is  not  a  mere  outward  act — a  mere 
washing  of  the  body,  or  cleansing  of  "the  filth  of  the 
flesh" — but  a  spiritual  act,  and  a  spiritual  act  of  a 

particular  character,  which  they  definitely  describe. 

63 


MOKAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

What  have  we  now  found?  That  the  Scriptural 
description  of  baptism  on  its  subjective  side  corre- 
sponds exactly  to  the  third  spiritual  step  in  conver- 
sion, as  viewed  from  the  standing-point  of  the  soul's 
necessary  experience;  that  baptism  is,  in  short,  the 
Scriptural  name  for  that  great  spiritual  step.  We  see 
also  that,  according  to  the  universal  demand  of  human 
nature  regarding  such  mental  acts,  it  has  been  provided 
with  an  external  embodiment — fitting,  beautiful,  im- 
pressive. All  is  just  as  it  should  be  from  the  standpoint 
of  unvarying  spiritual  laws.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
Christianity  would  have  had  a  blemish.  We  see  also, 
taken  all  in  all,  within  and  without,  how  glorious  a 
thing  Christian  baptism  is. 

If  baptism  be  this  high  and  epochal  spiritual  step  in 
conversion, — a  covenanting  with  God,  the  spiritual 
grasp  of  the  divine  hand,  the  laying  hold  on  a  better 
life,  and  the  consecration  of  self  to  God,— some  im- 
portant conclusions  must  follow: 

We  shall  no  longer  be  surprised  that  the  gospel 
commission  makes  it,  equally  with  faith,  a  condition 
of  salvation  (Mark  xvi.  16).  We  see  that  it  should  be 
so.  We  shall  not  wonder  that,  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, it  is,  equally  with  repentance,  declared  to  be  a 
condition  of  the  remission  of  sins.  We  see  that  it 
must  be  so,  if  baptism  be  one  of  the  spiritual  steps  of 
conversion.  In  a  word,  the  high  and  epochal  charac- 
ter assigned  to  baptism  in  the  New  Testament  no 
longer  strikes  us  strangely,  but  is  felt  to  be  natural 
and  necessary. 

Finally,  if  baptism  be  a  mental-physical  act,  a  single 

act,  consisting  on  its  mental  side  of  a  self-giving  and 

Qhrist-tdking^  and  on  its  physical  side,  of  immersion 

in  tvater,  it  follows  that  the  whole  act  should  be  per- 

54 


THE    SPIRITUAL    ELEMENT   IN   BAPTISM 

formed  at  one  time;  and  such  was  the  invariable  prac- 
tice in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  even  if  need  be  at  '*the 
same  hour  of  the  night"  (Acts  xvi.  33).  When  the 
soul  is  ready  for  the  mental  step,  it  is  time  for  its 
physical  embodiment.  To  separate  the  external  of 
baptism  from  its  true  connection,  is  to  cancel  its  use- 
fulness. As  Prof.  Drummond  has  argued,  separation 
from  environment  is  death.  With  baptism  it  is  so. 
It  is  practically  baptiz-icide,     1  shall  speak  further  of 

this  in  the  next  chapter. 

55 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONSEQUENCES     OF     REGARDING     BAPTISM    AS     A    MEltfi 
OUTWARD   ACT. 

In  the  last  chapter,  I  endeavored  to  show  that  bap- 
tism is  a  spiritual-physical  act,  embracing  the  last  and 
consummating  spiritual  step  in  conversion,  and  that, 
by  its  very  nature,  it  must  not  only  succeed  repent- 
ance, but  precede  divine  acceptance  and  remission  of 
sins — the  position  accorded  to  it  in  the  Scriptures. 

Suppose,  now,  that  we  assume  baptism  to  be  a  mere 
external  act,  what  will  be  the  consequences? 

The  first  consequence  will  be  that  those  statements 
of  the  Scriptures  which  make  baptism  a  condition  to 
the  remission  of  sins  and  divine  acceptance  will  an- 
tagonize our  moral  sense.  That  such  tremendous 
issues  should  be  made  to  depend  on  a  condition  so 
trivial,  if  not  fanciful,  and  having  no  moral  or  rational 
connection  therewith,  is  a  proposition  alike  repugnant 
to  our  reason  and  to  our  clearest  spiritual  perceptions. 
Such  a  break  between  man's  moral  nature  and  the 
Scriptures  must  become  a  very  serious  matter  for  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  and  there  will  remain  but  one 
way  to  deal  with  it.  We  must  place  forced  interpre- 
tations on  all  such  Scriptures,  to  remove  their  ap- 
parent disharmony  with  our  moral  instincts.  If  clev- 
erly done,  this  procedure  may  satisfy  some,  but  with 
many  others  it  will  seem  that  all  is  not  right,  and  a 
lurking  seed  of  skepticism  will  remain  in  the  mind,  to 
work  its  unconscious  results. 

Having  dealt  with  this  difficulty,  we  shall  then  find 

ourselves  crnfronted  by  another.     If  baptism  is  not  a 

56 


REGARDING    BAPTISM    AS    A    MERE   OUTWARD    ACT 

condition  of  the  remission  of  sins  and  of  the  divine 
acceptance,  it  is  plain  that  we  mast  remove  it  from 
among  those  conditions;  and  we  must  hold  that  the 
spiritual  process  of  conversion,  the  divine  acceptance, 
the  remission  of  sins,  and  the  entrance  upon  the 
Christian  life,  all  take  place  without,  and  prior  to, 
baptism.  But,  in  doing  so,  we  break  with  the  practice 
of  the  apostles,  as  we  have  already  seemed  to  do  with 
their  teaching.  With  them  baptism,  the  internal  and 
external  together,  followed  repentance  immediately, 
the  immersion  not  being  separated  from  the  spiritual 
act  of  submission  to  God.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  it 
took  place,  in  its  entirety,  with  three  thousand  per- 
sons. At  the  house  of  Cornelius  it  took  place  imme- 
diately; with  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  immediately; 
with  the  Philippian  jailer,  the  same  hour  of  the 
night,  etc.  Such  was  the  apostolic  practice.  To  what, 
now,  can  be  attributed  the  fact  that  the  method  to-day 
extensively  practiced  is  to  bring  the  penitent  directly 
to  the  point  where  he  shall  feel  that  his  sins  have  been 
remitted,  and  to  disallow  baptism  till  it  is  believed 
that  all  the  steps  of  conversion,  as  well  as  the  divine 
acceptance  and  the  complete  entrance  upon  the  Chris- 
tian life,  have  taken  place — to  what  can  this  be  attrib- 
uted, but  to  the  belief  that  baptism  has  no  rightful 
place  in  the  process  of  conversion,  and  to  what  can 
that  be  attributed,  but  to  the  assumption  that  it  is  a 
mere  outward  act? 

This  deviation  from  the  apostolic  practice  is  similar 
to  that  which  would  take  place  with  marriage,  should 
the  parties  take  each  other  privately  as  man  and  ^yife, 
entering  fully  upon  the  marital  relation,  and  after  they 
had  been  living  together  for  several  months,  call  in  a 
minister  to  perform  some  kind  of  ceremony  over  them, 

57 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

to  indicate  that  they  had  been  married  some  months 
before.  Should  such  a  mutilation  of  marriage  take 
place,  how  long  would  it  take  to  bring  the  ceremony 
into  neglect?  And  should  this  empty  ceremony  be 
given  the  name  of  marriage,  how  quickly  would  mar- 
riage be  pronounced  a  non-essential,  and  how  often 
neglected  altogether.  Why  does  marriage,  the  inter- 
nal the  (mental)  and  the  external,  hold  its  ground  from 
age  to  age?  and  why  are  the  internal  and  external 
never  separated?  There  can  be  but  one  answer — the 
immutable  laws  of  nature,  which  lock  them  securely 
in  their  places — so  securely  that  none  but  the  immoral 
ever  think  of  calling  the  external  part  of  marriage  a 
non-essential.  Thus  to  mutilate  marriage,  separating 
the  external  from  the  internal,  would  so  far  destroy 
its  utility  as  practically  to  amount  io  free-love.  Let  us 
beware  how  we  mutilate  baptism,  separating  the  inter- 
nal from  the  external;  for  it  cannot  fail  to  work  seri- 
ous damage  to  the  high  spiritual  interests  of  Chris- 
tianity itself. 

Having  taken  baptism  out  of  the  proper  place  as- 
signed it  in  the  Scripture  teaching  and  apostolic  prac- 
tice, we  are  confronted  by  another  question.  Where 
shall  we  put  it?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  has  been  put 
in  various  places.  It  is  applied  to  infants  as  a  dedica- 
tory ceremony.  Tf  it  be  a  mere  external  act,  the  fact 
that  infants  can  furnish  no  mental  factor  would  form 
no  objection  to  its  use  upon  them ;  and,  if  we  are  to 
mutilate  it,  separating  the  external  from  the  internal, 
the  question,  what  place  we  shall  assign  to  the  external 
part,  is  thenceforth  a  simple  question  of  expediency  or 
taste.     But,  in  doing  so,  we  are   breaking  with   the 

Scriptures,  and  with  the  analogy  of  all  the  externalized 

58 


REGARDING    BAPTISM     AS    A   MERE    OUTWARD    ACT 

mental  acts  of  histor3\  We  are  at  sea,  and  have  little 
else  but  fancy  to  guide  us. 

Those  who  insist  on  believers'  baptism  and  aim  to 
keep  as  close  to  the  Scriptures  as  possible,  but  deny 
that  baptism  has  any  rightful  place  in  conversion,  can 
probably  do  nothing  better  than  limit  its  use  to  being 
''a  door  into  the  visible  church."  But  the  Scriptures 
know  nothing  of  any  such  limitation,  and  even  make 
it  impossible,  if  their  statements  regarding  its  being  a 
condition  of  salvation,  or  remission  of  sins,  are  to  re- 
ceive their  natural  interpretation.  Baptism  is  not  a 
(^oo?Mnto  anything;  it  is  nn  entering  into  Christ — the 
welding  of  that  mystic  bond  between  the  soul  and 
Christ,  which  is  described  as  its  being  in  him,  and  he 
in  it.  This  limitation  therefore  dispenses  with  the 
central  and  most  important  use  of  baptism,  retaining 
only  a  derivative  one;  but  it  is  no  doubt  the  best  that 
can  be  done  under  the  circumstances. 

If  we  are  to  cut  loose  from  the  distinct  statements 
of  Scripture,  and  from  the  unmistakable  practice  of 
the  apostles  in  the  use  of  baptism,  we  shall  find  our- 
selves confronted  with  another  question. 

If  baptism  be  a  mere  external  act,  a  mere  formality, 
why  retain  it  at  all  in  a  spiritual  religion  like  Chris- 
tianity? This  situation  is  by  no  means  a  fanciful  one. 
It  is  being  felt  with  not  a  little  force,  and  some  of  "the 
evangelical  denominations  are  holding  to  the  ordinance 
with  a  very  feeble  grasp.  To  regard  baptism  as  a  mere 
outward  act,  and  then  place  it  in  useless  and  unseemly 
positions,  is  to  put  it  on  trial  for  its  Hfe.  Nay,  rather, 
to  kill  it,  and  then  seek  to  withhold  it  from  burial. 

Such   is   the   havoc   wrought   by  reading   into   the 

Scriptures  a  distinction  that  they  do  not  recognize. 

To  speak  of  baptism  as  the  "outward  form  of  an  in- 

59 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

ward  grace";  or  as  "a  sign  and  seal  of  the  soul's 
giving  up  to  God,"  is  to  chop  the  meaning  of  a  Scrip- 
ture term  squarely  in  two,  and  apply  the  whole  term 
to  its  external  half,  thus  making  the  Scriptures  say 
w^hat  they  never  intended,  and  involving  them  in 
numerous  contradictions  and  inconsistencies. 

Baptism  was  regarded  in  the  apostolic  church  as 
one  act^  internal  and  external^  and  it  continued  to  be 
so  regarded  for  more  than  three  hundred  years.  St. 
Augustine  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  distinction 
which  forms  the  basis  of  the  modern  view.* 

Eegard  baptism  as  a  spiritual-physical  act,  and  all 
difficulties  immediately  vanish.  If  it  be  the  great  con- 
summating spiritual  step  in  conversion,  as  the  Scrip- 
tures represent  it,  our  moral  nature  at  once  arises  and 
places  it  where  they  place  it,  as  a  condition  of  salva- 
tion; and  its  external  part  becomes  just  as  useful 
(nay,  more  so)  as  that  of  marriage,  and  numerous 
other  externalized  mental  acts,  both  civil  and  social, 
which  hold  their  places  from  age  to  age  among  all  na- 
tions, grounded  in  the  necessities  of  natural  law. 
When  so  regarded,  reason,  conscience,  the  human 
heart,  and  all  history  arise  to  do  it  homage,  and,  with 
reverent  hands,  enthrone  it  where  Christ  and  the 
apostles  placed  it.  The  institution  of  baptism  rests 
on  a  basis  of  eternal  spiritual  laws;  and  it  will  endure  as 
long  as  conversion  itself  shall  last,  and  the  human  soul 
shall  continue  to  be  what  it  is.  It  courts  the  light, 
and  will  justify  itself  in  the  highest  courts  of  human 
reason.  The  question  is  not  whether  much  or  little 
of  it  shall  be  retained,  or  whether  much  or  little  shall 
be  made  of  it.     Restoration  is  the  duty  of  the  hour. 


^See  Encyc.  Brit.,  A.rt.  Baptism. 

60 


REGARDING    BAPTISM   AS   A   MERE    OUTWARD    ACT 

Restore  baptism  in  its  meaning,  in  its  place,  in  its  use; 

and,  when  it  shall  appear  the  exalted  thing  that  it  is, 

it  will  need  no  apologist.     When  the  bush  shall  burn, 

men  will  take  off  their  shoes  in  its  presence. 

61 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   DIVINE    SIDE    OF    BAPTISM. 

§i.      God's  Part  in  Baptism. 

In  the  last  three  chapters  the  spiritual  element 
in  baptism  has  been  considered  only  in  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  candidate's  share  in  the  act.  It  now  re- 
mains to  consider  God's  part  in  baptism. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  arrest  our  attention  in  the 
examination  of  the  subject  of  baptism  is  the  fact  that 
the  candidate  does  not  baptize  himself.  With  the 
young  and  timid,  there  would  seem  to  be  a  natural 
reason  for  this,  but  in  a  large  proportion  of  cases, 
there  can  be  no  such  explanation.  Yet  we  find  in 
the  Scriptures  that  self-baptism  never  in  any  case  took 
place,  and  furthermore,  that  it  was  required  in  the 
Commission  itself  that  the  disciples  should  do  the  bap- 
tizing. What  is  the  meaning  of  this?  Clearly,  that 
the  physical  part  of  baptism  is  performed  by  God, 
through  an  agent.  It  is  God's  act.  So  completely  is 
this  so,  that  the  agent  is  allowed  no  discretionary 
power,  but  is  commanded  to  perform  a  certain  specific 
act  on  a  certain  particular  kind  of  candidate;  and, 
that  he  may  know  that  the  candidate  is  a  proper  sub- 
ject, a  confession  of  faith  is  provided,  embodying  the 
ground  of  his  fitness.  And,  then,  the  administrator  is 
required  to  perform  the  act  not  in  his  own,  but  in 
God's,  name.  The  administrator  therefore  becomes 
an  instrument — God's  physical  hand  in  baptizing  men. 
His  act  is  an  administrative  act  of  the  Divine  Govern- 
ment.    Baptism  is  thus  a  dual  act — a  single  act  by  two 

persons,  God  and  the  candidate — God  performing,  the 

62 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE   OF   BAPTISM 

K/rtudidate  receiving.  It  belongs  to  that  class  of  acts 
wiiich  can  only  take  place  through  the  agency  of  two 
persons,  like  shaking  hands,  marriage,  etc. 

There  arises  here  an  important  question.  As  God's 
part  of  the  act  is  performed  by  an  agent  clothed  with 
power  of  attorney,  we  may  ask.  Is  God  present  in  the 
act,  in  propria  persona,  or  only  by  proxy?  A  man 
may  transact  business  in  America  by  his  attorney, 
while  living  in  Constantinople,  and  be  absent  not  only 
in  body  but  in  thought  from  what  is  taking  place  at 
the  time.  In  this  case,  although  the  a.  t  of  the  agent 
is  strictly  Jiis  by  authorization,  it  i^  nevertheless  purely 
legal,  and  devoid  of  a  personal  element.  If,  therefore, 
God  baptizes  only  by  an  agent,  without  being  person- 
ally present  in  the  act,  vast  consequences  must  ensue. 
Baptism,  on  his  part,  must  become  a  mere  legal  affair, 
and  this,  by  an  infallible  law  of  influence,  will 
freeze  it  into  legalism  on  its  human  side;  and  a  legal 
baptism  will  be  but  the  introduction  to  a  legal  religious 
life. 

This  important  question  is  answered  for  us  in  ad- 
vance by  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  The  father 
does  not  simply  leave  orders  with  his  servants  that,  in 
case  the  prodigal  returns,  they  shall  admit  him,  and 
then  go  about  his  business,  giving  it  no  further 
thought;  but  Avatches  anxiously  for  his  coming  and, 
seeing  him  afar  off,  runs  to  meet  him,  and  falls  upon 
his  neck,  and  stifles  his  confessions  with  kisses.  This, 
then,  we  conclude,  will  be  the  welcome  which  the 
divine  Father  will  give  to  returning  prodigals  who 
come  to  him  in  baptism. 

There  is  another  scene  that  throws  much  light  on 
this  subject.  Although  Christ  was  baptized  by  John, 
his  baptism  differed  in  important  respects  from  John's 

63 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

baptism ;  and  in  all  these  respects  corresponded  with 
Christian  baptism,  and  with  the  advantage,  that  some 
of  its  attendant  features  are  pictorially  represented. 
It  is  an  exact  type  of  Christian  baptism  in  all  respects, 
save  that  the  matter  of  sin  does  not  enter  into  con- 
sideration. 

Let  us  notice  what  takes  place  here.  First,  we  have 
the  external  act,  which  we  can  see;  but  we  have  also, 
on  the  part  of  Jesus,  a  putting  off  of  the  old,  and  lay- 
ing hold  on  a  new,  life-work — a  putting  off  of  the  life 
of  a  carpenter  and  taking  up  that  marvelous  mission 
of  saving  mankind.  On  the  part  of  God,  we  have  the 
performance  of  the  physical  baptism  through  John 
his  appointed  agent,  and,  in  it,  his  approving  accept- 
ance of  Jesus  in  his  new  consecration;  for  he  openly 
declares  such  acceptance  immediately  after.  Then,  at 
the  close  of  the  act  of  baptism,  the  Spirit,  in  the  form 
of  a  dove,  appears  and  rests  upon  Jesus,  and  a  voic«a 
out  of  heaven  declares  him  to  be  God's  well  beloved 
son. 

We  here  have  no  mere  baptism  by  proxy,  but  the 
same  fatherly  meeting  and  loving  greeting  as  took 
place  in  the  case  of  the  prodigal;  and  we  have,  more- 
over, a  certain  series  of  occurrences  which  correspond 
in  all  respects  to  those  of  Christian  baptism,  save  that, 
in  the  latter,  the  last  two  are  not  clothed  in  symbol. 
As  in  this,  so  in  Christian  baptism,  we  have  the  exter- 
nal act,  and  the  same  act.  We  have  also  in  the  soul 
of  the  candidate  a  renouncing  of  the  old  life  and 
taking  on  of  a  new  life  of  divine  service— a  consecra- 
tion, a  giving  of  himself  to  God.  But,  because  he  is 
a  sinner,  we  have  also  one  other  thing — a  prayer  for 
divine  acceptance  and  pardon  (1.  Pet.  iii.  21).*     On 

*See  interpretation  of  this  passage  in  Chapter  III.,  p.  53. 

fid 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE   OF   BAPTISM 

the  part  of  God,  we  have  the  performance  of  the 
physical  act,  through  an  agent,  and — what?  This  is 
the  whole  question  that  divides  the  Christian  world 
regarding  the  design  of  baptism,  to-day.  Let  us  there- 
fore proceed  carefully  here.  There  is  one  thing  cer- 
tain— God  \^  present  pei^sonally ;  for  baptism  is  said  to 
be  the  "asking  for  a  good  conscience  toward  him'' 
(or,  as  some  prefer  to  read,  "the  inquiry*  of  a  good 
conscience  after  God");  and,  if  God  be  not  present 
to  hear  this  appeal  of  the  heart,  he  does  but  mock  it. 
The  same  thing  is  referred  to  in  Acts  xxii.  16,  when 
Ananias  directs  Saul  to  arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash 
away  his  sins,  "calling  on  his  [Christ's]  name."t  This 
calling  on  the  name  of  Christ,  this  prayer  of  the  soul 
to  him,  is  an  act  which  presupposes  the  listening  ear 
and  the  answering  blessing.  Unless  God  has  intended 
to  mock  us,  he  has  not  placed  these  spiritual  acts  in 
baptism,  to  receive  no  response  from  him.  The  cry  of 
the  heart  is  not  uttered  into  vacancy.  As  with  the 
prodigal,  the  surrender  of  the  soul  finds  ready  the 
Everlasting  Arms.  God  is  present  at  the  baptismal 
scene  of  the  convert,  as  he  was  at  that  of  his  own  son, 
and  ready  to  add  his  blessing.  |  What  is  that  blessing? 
The  promise  is  that  immediately ||  after  baptism  the 

*Vulgate,  De  Wette,  Alford.  Lange's  Com.  has:  "Baptism  is 
the  inquiry  for  a  good  conscience  before  God."     So,  substantially 

P^r'Q  [^f^'irnn ^  . • — - 

le  verb  is  in  the  middle  voice — "I  call  upon  (in  my  behalf) 
the  name  of  the  Ivord  .  .  .  i.e.,  Christ"  iTh.3iyex's  Lexicon). 
This  is  decisive,  showing  that  God  is  present  in  the  act  of  bap- 
tism, ready  to  bestow  some  benefit. 

XOi  course,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  God  is  everywhere  pres- 
ent.    His  gracious  presence  is  here  referred  to. 

II  Immediately,  in  the  sense  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  promised 
without  any  further  condition  on  the  part  of  the  candidate.  The 
Holy  Spirit  was  sometimes  conferred  by  laying  on  of  hands  by 
the  apostles,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  either 
necessary  or  universal.  Nor  have  we  any  knowledge  that  this 
5  65 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Holy  Spirit  shall  be  given  to  the  convert,  bearing  wit- 
ness of  sonship  in  his  heart  and  causing  him  to  cry 
*'Abba,  Father." 

Of  so  much  we  are  certain,  then — that  God^is  pres- 
e nt  at  the  transaction,  and  that  the  HohuSpirit  is  be- 
^to\ved  after  it.  Does  anvthina^  else  take  place?  At 
this  point  there  are  two  passages  whicirdemand  our 
attention — 1.  Fet.  iii.  21,  which  declares  that  baptism 
(saves  usT^and  Acts  xxii.  16,  which  speaks  oi'  baptism 
as  washing  away  sin,  thus  implying  that  there  is  some- 
thing in  baptism  which  takes  away  sin.  These  two 
passages,  according  to  the  popular  ideas  of  baptism, 
stand  clearly  opposed  to  our  moral  intuitions,  and  to 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  itself.  Let  us  not,  however, 
yield  to  the  temptation  to  place  upon  them  some 
strained  interpretation;  for  in  so  doing  we  shall  close 
the  door  to  all  further  light.  Let  us  allow  them  their 
obvious  import,  and  continue  our  investigations.  And 
first,  let  us  look  into  baptism  itself  to  see  what  we  can 
find  there.  There  is  the  external  act.  Can  we  dis- 
cover anything  in  this  which  has  the  power  to  take 
away  sin?  No,  for  if  this  were  so  every  bather  would 
be  made  free  from  guilt.  In  some  ages  of  the  church, 
saving  power  has  been  supposed  to  reside  in  water, 
but  if  there  be  anyone  who,  after  reading  the  Gospels 
and  the  epistles  of  Paul,  setting  forth  the  spiritual 
character  of  Christianity,  can  suppose  the  apostles 
capable  of  such  a  view,  for  him  I  do  not  write. 

Now,  let  us  ascend  to  the  spiritual  part  of  baptism, 


was  delayed,  except  in  a  single  instance  (Acts  viii.)  when  the 
apostles  were  absent,  and  when  it  seemed  best  that  the  Spirit 
should  be  conferred  through  their  instrumentality.  The  entire 
language  of  Scripture  and  the  apostolic  history  lead  us  to  believe 
that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  closely  connected  with 
baptism. 


THE    DniNK    SIDE    OF    BAPTISM 

within  the  soul — the  putting  off  of  the  old  life  and  the 
complete  giving  of  one's  self  up  to  God.  Is  there 
anything  in  this  that  has  power  to  take  away  sin? 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  forms  a  fitting  condition 
of  remission,  but  it  has  within  itself  no  power  to  take 
away  guilt,  else  the  candidate  could  pardon  his  own 
sins — an  idea  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  very 
nature  of  pardon.  If  we  proceed  a  step  further,  we 
shall  see  that  pardon  is  of  necessity  something  that 
takes  place  on  the  part  of  another,  and,  in  this  case, 
it  must  be  the  act  of  God. 

If  pardon,  or  remission  of  sins,  must  of  necessity  be 
a  divine  act;  if,  under  the  figure  of  a  washing,  baptism 
is  said  to  take  away  sin;  and  if  it  saves  us  (1.  Pet.  iii. 
21),  it  is  clear  that  baptism  must  contain  within  itself 
a  divine  act — the  remission  of  sins.  When  any  one  is 
washed,  he  is  not  cleansed  after  the  act,  but  in  and  by 
it;  and  when  one  is  saved  by  anything,  the  saving 
takes  place  in  the  act  which  saves  him,  not  after  it.* 
It  is  equally  true  that  when  a  man  is  washed  he  is  not 
cleansed  before  the  washing,  but  in  and  by  it;  and  that 
when  a  man'is  saved  by  anything  he  is  not  saved  before 
that  thing  takes  place,  but  when  it  takes  placet 
Here,  then,  is  a  divine  spiritual  element  in  baptism — 
the  pardon,  or  remission,  of  sins. 

Again,  we  have  seen  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  prom- 
ised after  baptism,  as  an  indwelling  guest,  bearing 
witness  of  divine  sonship.     But  this  could   not  take 

*In  Titus  iii.  5  we  are  said  to  be  saved  * 'through  the  washing 
of  regeneration  [baptism]  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
Thus,  salvation  takes  place,  at  least  in  part,  in  baptism.  The 
Scriptures  do  not  regard  baptism  simply  as  a  condition  to  be  com- 
plied with,  after  \\\\\ch.  salvation  is  granted,  but  as  God's  act,  in 
and  through  which  he  saves  us. 

fTliat  remission  of  sins  does  not  take  place  before  baptism,  will 
be  considered  at  greater  length  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  work. 

67 


MOEAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

place  unless  acceptance  to  sonship  had  already  taken 
place.  And  with  this  the  Scriptures  agree;  for  Paul 
says  (Gal.  iv.  6):  "Because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent 
forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  our  hearts,  crying, 
Abba,  Father."  Now,  does  this  acceptance  to  sonship 
take  place  in  baptism,  or  after  it?  If  the  acceptance 
does  not  take  place  until  after  the  act,  baptism  falls 
out  of  analogy  with  all  other  externalized  mental  acts. 
When  the  little  child  throws  its  arms  around  its  moth- 
er's neck  and  kisses  her,  is  the  act  a  mere  empty 
formality,  and  does  the  caress  in  its  little  heart  not 
take  placo  until  it  is  all  over?  Is  it  not  the  truth  of 
the  case  that  the  heart-caress  has  burst  into  form,  and 
lives  in  the  form,  as  the  spirit  lives  in  the  body? 
When  the  father  fell  upon  the  prodigal's  neck  and 
passionately  kissed  him,  are  we  to  understand  that 
this  was  all  empty  acting,  and  that  the  true  heart- 
greeting  did  not  come  until  it  was  all  over?  Nothing 
but  the  most  positive  statements  of  Scripture  could 
justify  us  in  believing  that  Christian  baptism  so  grossly 
violates  the  spiritual  laws  of  the  heart.  And  here  let 
it  be  said  that  but  give  the  heart  a  chance,  and  it  will 
correct  nearly  every  error  in  regard  to  baptism  in  the 
Christian  world  to-day. 

But  what  have  the  Scriptures  to  say  on  this  subject? 
As  already  seen,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  given  until  after 
the  acceptance  to  sonship.  Now,  where  does  this  ac- 
ceptance to  sonship  take  place?  or  at  what  point  do 
men  become  sons  of  God?  Paul  says  (Gal.  iii.  26,  27)  : 
"For  ye  are  all  sons  of  God  through  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus.  For  as  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into 
Christ  did  put  on  Christ. ' '  Here  the  believer's  becom- 
ing a  son  is  located  in  baptism,  and  it  is  stated  that  it 

comes  about  by  his  putting  on  Christ,  i.  e.,  the  spir- 

68 


THE   DIVINE   SIDE   OF   BAPTISM 

itual  part  of  baptism  on  its  human  side.  But,  a  few 
verses  further  on,  it  is  said  that  this  becoming  sons, 
which  takes  place  in  baptism,  comes  about  by  adop- 
tion; which  simply  views  the  same  fact  from  its  God- 
ward  side,  i.  e.,  the  spiritual  part  of  baptism  on  its 
divine  side.  Of  course,  such  acceptance  to  sonship 
implies  pardon,  or  remission  of  sins.  Baptism,  there- 
fore, on  its  divine  side,  embraces  both  pardon  and 
adoption. 

Baptism  on  its  human  side  is  a  putting  off  of  the  old 
life  and  taking  on  the  new — a  complete  giving  up  to 
God,  and  finds  fitting  expression  in  burial  and  resur- 
rection; baptism  on  its  divine  side  is  an  acceptance  to 
sonship,  involving  remission  of  sins,  and  finds  fitting 
expression  in  the  washing  of  water.  The  burial,  on 
the  human  side,  finds  its  correlate  in  the  washing,  on 
the  divine  side;  the  consecration  and  prayer  for  accept- 
ance and  pardon,  on  the  human  side,  finds  its  correlate 
in  acceptance  (involving  pardon),  on  the  divine  side. 
This  all  takes  place  in  the  act,  as  it  did  in  the  meeting 
of  the  prodigal  and  his  father,*  and  as  the  spiritual 

*Care  must  be  taken  not  to  find  in  this  parable  a  complete 
picture  of  Christian  conversion.  Christ's  mediatorial  work  had 
not  yet  been  done,  and  his  kingdom  was  not  yet  set  up.  The 
prodigal  comes  to  his  father  without  any  knowledge  of  a  medi- 
ator, and  his  confession  is  not,  as  is  that  of  Christian  conversion, 
a  confession  ol  faith.  The  eager  embrace  and  kiss  and  the  be- 
stowment  of  the  best  robe,  the  ring,  and  the  shoes,  with  the 
merry-making,  together  constitute  the  father's  loving  welcome 
and  reinstatement  of  the  offender,  and  correspond  to  blessings 
conferred  in,  or  in  close  connection  with,  baptism.  To  make  the 
embrace  and  kiss  represent  a  transaction  taking  place  before  bap- 
tism would  not  be  allowable,  for  no  such  thing  happens  in  Chris- 
tian conversion.  This  was  a  spiritual  greeting  embodied  in  a 
visible  ad  of  expression^  and  conveying  to  the  prodigal  the  assur- 
ance of  his  father's  forgiveness.  Nothing  of  the  kind  takes  place 
before  baptism  in  conversion.  There  is  no  divine-human  meeting 
in  which  the  assurance  of  remission  of  sins  is  conveyed.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  giving  the  sense  of  sonship,  is,  by 
divine  apDointment,  not  bestowed  until  after  baptism. 

69 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

laws  of  the  heart  demand  that  it  should  do ;  and  these 
same  laws  demand  that  the  spiritual  meeting  of  the 
penitent  and  his  Savior  shall  find  embodiment  in  an 
external  act.  Step  between  the  father  and  the  prod- 
igal and  prevent  their  passionate  embrace  and  eager 
kiss,  and  behold  the  heart-hunger  on  either  side. 
Nay,  it  woukl  strike  deeper  than  that;  a  constrained 
and  starved  greeting  would  have  largely  chilled  the 
feeling,  the  very  spiritual  part  of  the  greeting,  itself; 
and  still  further  than  this,  had  neither  of  them  desired 
any  act  of  greeting,  it  would  have  proved  the  coldness 
of  the  son's  repentance  and  the  coldness  of  the 
father's  acceptance,  and  would  have  given  evidence  of 
a  spirit  of  mere  legalism  on  both  sides.  True  baptism, 
so  far  from  being  a  mere  legal  affair,  is  the  enemy  of 
legalism,  and,  by  its  very  nature,  a  conservator  of 
spirituality  in  conversion.  By  virtue  of  its  high  spir- 
itual elements  it  must  ever  be  a  stumbling-block  to  the 
legalist. 

But  there  are  other  Scriptural  evidences  that  bap- 
tism embraces  within  itself  divine  acceptance,  one  of 
which  I  will  mention.  No  one  can  be  "baptized  into 
Christ"  without  hoth.  seehing  to  enter,  and  being  admit- 
ted,  into  Christ.  Being  *'in  Christ"  is  a  social  relation, 
and  can  as  little  be  accomplished  by  one  party  alone 
as  can.  marriage.  This  very  phrase  shows  that  baptism 
was  regarded  by  the  apostles  as  an  act  of  divine  ac- 
ceptance on  the  part  of  Christ.  If  any  one  doubts 
this,  let  him  try  to  define  the  meaning  of  being  *'in 
Christ,"  so  as  to  exclude  acceptance  on  the  part  of 
Christ,  and  he  will  discover  the  moral  impossibility  in- 
volved. "Baptized  into  Christ"  is  probably  the  most 
comprehensive  expression  in  the  New  Testament  re- 
garding baptism.     It  embraces,  on  its  physical  side,  a 

70 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE   OF   BAPTISM 

hurial  and  resurrection^  answering  to  the  spiritual  ele- 
ment on  the  human  side;  and  (since  it  takes  place  in 
water)  a  ivashing,  answering  to  the  cleansing  from 
guilt,  on  the  divine  side.  Then,  in  its  spiritual  aspect, 
we  have  an  entering  into  Christ  (human  part),  and  an 
admission  into  Christ  (divine  part). 

Baptism  is  therefore  a  dual  act,  which,  like  hand- 
shaking and  many  other  similar  acts,  has  two-souls, 
and  one  body  loith  two  aspects.  * 'Baptized  into  Christ" 
is  one  of  those  happy  expressions  that  say  a  thing  once 
and  forever. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  said  that  baptism  means  all  this, 
but  only  as  a  symbol,  and  that  it  points  to  a  union  be- 
tween the  convert  and  Christ  taking  place  some  time 
before.  Take  this  view,  and  you  cause  baptism  to 
break  with  the  analogy  of  all  other  similar  institu- 
tions. Do  lovers  take  each  other  as  husband  and  wife 
and  enter  upon  the  full  marital  rehition  some  time 
before  the  marriage  act?  Can  any  sufficient  reason  be 
assigned  why  baptism  should  be  so  treated?  Take  this 
view  and  you  sow  the  New  Testament  full  of  incon- 
sistencies, and  unmoral  conditions,  and  cause  it  to 
break  with  our  clearest  moral  instincts,  and  with  its 
own  sublime  teachings,  and  then,  having  read  unmoral 
meanings  into  it,  you  must  wrest  and  distort  its  lan- 
guage, to  make  it  morally  tolerable — and  all  this  for 
the  sake  of  adhering  to  a  groundless  assumption  that 
baptism  is  a  mere  outward  act.  It  is  amazing  how  men 
could  have  so  erred  regarding  baptism.  It  is  the  work 
of  mechanical  theologies  blind  to  the  true  nature  of 
Christianity  as  a  religion  of  the  heart. 

If  baptism  contains  within  itself  a  double  spiritual 

element, — a  human  giving  and  a  divine  receiving, — 

there  will  no  longer  be  aiiy  passages  of  Scripture  to 

71 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF    BAPTISM 

explain  away,  for  it  is  plain  that  it  contains  withiniiself 
something  capable  of  taking  away  the  guilt  of  sin. 
This  power  lies  not  in  the  water,  not  in  the  burial,  not 
in  the  soul's  giving  up  to  Christ,  but  in  the  divine  ac- 
ceptance, which  forms  the  spiritual  part  of  baptism 
on  its  divine  side.  If  this  is  true,  baptism  must  of 
course  be  *'for  the  remission  of  sins,"  and  can  be  fitly 
said  to  "wash  away"  sins,  and  it  will  be  but  natural  to 
say  that  we  are  * 'saved  by  the  washing  of  regenera- 
tion," etc.  All  those  passages  which  have  been  wont 
to  scandalize  our  moral  sense  when  baptism  is  viewed 
as  a  mere  physical  act,  now  fall  readily  into  line,  and 
even  become  to  the  heart  some  of  the  most  precious  in 
the  Bible.  The  whole  language  of  the  New  Testament 
regarding  baptism  thus  becomes  natural,  and  in  per- 
fect keeping  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  Baptism 
remains  no  longer  vulnerable  to  the  attacks  of  the  ra- 
tionalist, but  turns  upon  him  and,  armed  with  a  higher 
rationalism,  sweeps  into  his  camp  with  telling  effect. 
It  ceases  to  need  an  apologist,  and  becomes  itself  one  of 
the  moral  evidences  of  Christianity. 

Baptism  is  a  clasping  of  hands  with  God.  The 
hand  of  the  penitent  trembles  and  is  wet  with  tears; 
the  hand  of  the  Father  is  strong,  kind,  assuring.  The 
hand-clasp  is  in  silence;  then,  through  the  Spirit, — 
**My  son"— "Abba,  Father." 

Baptism  is  the  meeting  of  the  Father  and  the  return- 
ing prodigal.  The  conditions  in  conversion  and  in  the 
parable  are  the  same,  save  that,  as  God  has  no  human 
body,  the  physical  act  must  of  necessity  be  different. 
In  the  mutual  embrace  the  son  commits  himself  to  a 
filial  life,  with  contrite  pleadings  for  acceptance,  and 
in  it  also,  he  is  accepted.     All   this  is  so  in  baptism. 

To  have  deferred  the  passionate  embrace  and  placed 

72 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE    OF   BAPTISM 

the  scene  some  months  after  the  son  had  returned 
home  would  have  been  to  transform  it  into  a  mockery. 
Whj^  not  so  with  baptism?  Deny  the  embrace  and 
eager  kiss,  and  you  have  heart-hunger  and  a  chilling  of 
the  feelings  that  seek  such  expression.  Let  the  em- 
brace not  be  desired  by  the  parties,  and  you  have  the 
coldness  of  legalism. 

Accord  to  baptism,  on  its  human  side,  the  spiritual 
elements  which  the  Scriptures  give  to  it,  and  there  is 
no  other  fitting  place  where  pardon  and  acceptance  to 
divine  sonship  can  take  place.  When  theology  re- 
stores to  baptism  the  spiritual  element  of  putting  on 
Christ  (Gal.  iii.  27),  the  divine  pardon  and  acceptance 
will  quickly  take  its  place  there  also. 

§^.      The  Larger  View. 

The  description  of  the  divine  side  of  baptism  can 
hardly  be  complete  without  mentioning  a  larger  view, 
for  which  the  Scriptures  seem  to  give  some  warrant. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  taking  place  after  baptism.  Is  such  the  case? 
The  representative  statement  of  Peter  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  declares  that  they  who  repent  and  are  bap- 
tized "shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  This 
language  declares  that  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  be  received 
on  condition  of  repentance  and  baptism,  but  does  not 
specify  whether  the  bestowment  is  to  take  place  in  the 
act  of  baptism  or  after  it. 

There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  should  be  delayed;  the  same  conditions 
which  entitle  one  to  the  remission  of  sins  also  entitle 
him  to  the  gift  of  the  Spirit;  so  that  there  need  be  no 
waiting  for  further  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  can- 
didate.    If  remission  of  sins  and  adoption  to  sonship 

take  place  in  baptism,  certainly  the  person  who  has  re- 

73 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

ceived  these  marks  of  acceptance  is  prepared  to  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit.  There  can  be  no  moral  or  spiritual 
reason  why  one  who  has  been  adopted  to  sonship 
should  not  at  once  receive  the  **spirit  of  adoption." 

But  do  not  the  facts  of  the  gospel  history  decide 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed  after  baptism,  rather 
than  in  it?  They  do  not.  In  so  far  as  they  describe 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  being  bestowed  through  the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the  apostles,  they  necessarily  must 
describe  it  as  following  baptism,  for  this  imposition  of 
hands  would  not  be  practicable  during  the  baptismal 
act.  But  we  have  no  reason  to  think  that  this  was  the 
universal  practice.  There  was  no  apostle  present  to 
lay  hands  on  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  after  his  baptism 
(Acts  viii.) ;  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  a  distant  coun- 
try, where  no  such  opportunity  would  be  afforded 
later.  The  Christians  at  Rome  possessed  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  we  learn  by  Paul's  letter  to  them,  but  we 
have  no  reason  to  believe  that  they  had,  at  that  time, 
ever  been  visited  by  an  apostle.  Instances  need  not 
be  multiplied.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  prom- 
ised to  the  penitent  on  his  submission  to  baptism,  not 
on  submission  to  baptism  and  the  laying  on  of  hands; 
and,  in  all  those  cases  where  the  laying  on  of  hands 
did  not  take  place,  the  physical  cause  of  delay  involved 
in  that  act  would  not  be  present.  If  there  was  in  such 
cases  any  delay,  we  have  no  evidence  of  the  fact. 

The  baptism  of  Christ  was  a  close  type  of  Christian 

baptism;  and  we  learn  that,  as  he  was  *'coming  up  out 

of  the  water,"  and  while  praying  (c/.  Mk.  i.  10  and 

Lk.  iii.  21),  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon   him   in  the 

form  of  a  dove.     Here,  too,  the  fact  that  the  Spirit 

assumed  a  bodily  form  would  render  its  resting  upon 

him  impracticable  during  the  baptismal  act;  but  there 

74 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE    OF    BAPTISM 

is  one  thing  worthy  of  note:  the  bestowment  of  the 
Spirit  was  in  immediate  connection  v/ith  the  baptism, 
and  formed  part  of  the  baptismal  transaction.  That 
the  Spirit  was  not  given  during  the  act  of  immersion 
is  a  matter  of  no  importance;  it  belonged  to  the  bap- 
tism. It  belonged  to  God's  part  of  the  transaction. 
And  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  belongs  to  Christian  baptism,  and 
forms  a  part  of  the  divine  share  in  that  transaction. 
Unless  we  are  prepared  to  say  that  God  arbitrarily 
withholds  his  Spirit  from  those  whom  he  has  already 
pardoned  and  adopted  as  his  children,  we  must  hold 
that  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  takes  place  in 
immediate  connection  with  baptism,  and  is  essentially 
a  part  of  the  divine  side  of  baptism. 

In  connection  with  this,  it  will  be  well  to  notice  a 
few  facts : 

John  the  Baptist  predicted  that  the  baptism  of  the 

Messiah,  not  like  his  own,  which  was  simply  a  baptism 

''in  water,"  should  beabaptism  "in  the  Holy  Spirit"; 

and  a  great  outflow  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  connection 

with  the  Messiah's  kingdom  had,  for  centuries,  been  a 

matter  of  prophetic  prediction.     There  are  some  who 

regard   the   fulfillment  of  these   prophecies   as  being 

fully  accomplished  in  the  miraculous  outpouring  of  the 

Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  together  with  a  similar 

bestowment  on  Cornelius  and  his  friends  (c/.  Acts  ii. 

and  X.);  but  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  not  sufficient 

evidence  for  this  view.     It  will  hardly  be  questioned 

that  the  Christian  dispensation  is,  in  its  entirety,  not 

only  a  "ministration  of  the  si)irit"  (2  Cor.  iii),  but  a 

ministration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     The  Holy  Spirit  is 

promised  to  every  convert  (Acts  ii.  38),  and  without 

his  indwelling  no  one  can  be  regarded  as  a  Christian 

75 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

(Eom.  viii.  9).  Beyond  this  far-reaching  fact,  there 
are  some  Scripture  statements  which  are  worthy  of 
consideration. 

Christ  directed  the  disciples  that,  after  his  ascen- 
sion, they  should  remain  at  Jerusalem  until  John's 
prediction  should  be  fulfilled,  telling  them  that  they 
should  "be  baptized  in  the  Holy  Spirit"  not  many  days 
after.  They  did  as  he  directed,  and  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  the  miraculous  bestowment  of  the  Spirit 
took  place.  This,  Peter  explained  as  the  fulfillment 
of  Joel's  prophecy,  declaring  that  there  should  be  a 
gresit  pouri7ig  out  of  the  spirit  in  the  Messiah's  reign. 
As  this  event  is  taken  as  a  fulfillment  not  only  of 
John's  and  Christ's  prediction  regarding  a  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  also  of  Joel's  prediction  regard- 
ing the  out2)Ouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  evident  that 
the  two  expressions  are  but  different  designations  of 
the  same  act.  Whenever,  therefore,  we  find  the  pom-- 
ing  out  of  the  Spirit  spoken  of,  we  may  understand 
that  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  meant,  and  vice 
versa.  Now,  in  Titus  iii.  5,  6,  we  have  the  statement, 
referring  to  Christians  generally,  that  "he  [God] 
saved  us,  through  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  he  poured  out  upon 
us  richly,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Savior."  The 
outpouring  (or  baptism)  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was,  there- 
fore, not  limited  to  one  or  two  occasions,  but  was  a 
bestowment  belonging  to  Christian  converts  generally; 
and  we  may  consider  it  to  be  the  same  as  the  "gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit"  spoken  of  by  Peter  in  Acts  ii.  38. 

But  the  question  runs  deeper  than  this;  for  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is,  in  Titus  iii.  5,  6,  con- 
nected directly  with  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

But  this  renewing  of  the  Spirit  is,  in  the  same  passage, 

76 


THE   DIVINE    SIDE    OF   BAPTISM 

declared  to  be  one  of  the  steps  in  reaching  salvation. 
The  salvation  of  the  Cretans  was  accomplished  only 
"through  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Spirit."  The  baptism,  or  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  is,  therefore,  one  of  the  conditions  of 
salvation.  If  it  be  true  that  "he  who  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved,"  it  can  only  be  so  as  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Spirit  forms  part  of  the  transaction. 
This  language  in  Titus  completely  parallels  another 
statement  by  Christ  himself;  in  Jn.  iii.  5,  Christ  said 
toNicodemus:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except 
a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  en- 
ter into  the  kingdom  of  God."  It  hardly  need  be 
said  that  commentators  generally  regard  both  the 
"washing  of  regeneration,"  in  Titus,  and  "born  of 
water,"  in  John,  as  referring  to  baptism.*  In  view  of 
this,  the  parallel  will  stand  thus:  "washing  of  regen- 
eration" (Titus);  "born  of  water"  (John);  the  "re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  connected  with  its  out- 
pouring (Titus);  "born  of  the  Spirit,"  or  the  gift, 
outpouring,  or  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (John); 
salvation  (Titus);  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  God 
(John).     It  will  be  observed  also  that  we  have  the 


*Thayer's  Neiv  Testament  Greek  Lexicon  and  Cremer's  Biblico- 
Theological  Greek  Lexicon  both  define  loutrou  in  Titus  iii.  5  as 
referring  to  baptism. 

Prof.  Geo.  B.  Stevens,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  New  Testa- 
ment Criticism  and  Interpretation  in  Yale  University,  sa3'S  of  the 
language  in  Jn.  iii.  5:  "Most  commentators,  ancient  and  mod- 
ern, hold  that  there  is  in  the  word  'water'  some  kind  of  a  refer- 
ence to  baptism."  De  Wette,  Meyer  and  Holtzmann,  he  says, 
refer  it  to  Christian  baptism;  while  Tholuck,  Alford,  Westcott, 
Plummer  and  Godet  take  it  as  referring  primarily  to  John's  bap- 
tism, and  having  an  'indirect  or  prophetic  reference  to  Christian 
baptism.'  " — The Johan nine  T/ieoloi^y,  p.  249. 

For  our  present  purpose  it  does  not  matter  which  of  these  views 
is  taken.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  "born  of  water"  refers  to 
baptism. 

77 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

same  order  of  statement  in  both  passages,  namel}^  the 
"washing  of  regeneration"  and  "born  of  water,'* 
first;  the  "renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  (connected 
with  its  outpouring)  and  "born  of  the  Spirit,"  sec- 
ond. The  order  is  also  the  same  as  in  Peter's  state- 
ment in  Acts  ii.  38,  where  baptism  stands  first  and  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  second. 

If  in  Jn.  iii.  5  "born  of  water"  means  baptism,  the 
word  born  may  be  read  baptized,  and  we  shall  have  the 
passage  reading:  "Except  a  man  be  baptized  in  water 
and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.  As  men  are  saved  through  the  washing  of  re- 
generation and  renewing  (outpouring)  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  so  they  must  be  baptized  not  only  in  water, 
but  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  order  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom. Let  it  be  noticed,  also,  that  w^e  do  not  have  two 
births  here, — one  of  water  and  the  other  of  the 
Spirit, — but  one  birth,  in  which  both  are  factors.  If, 
therefore,  this  language  refers  to  baptism  in  water  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  we  shall  have,  not  two  baptisms, — one 
of  water  and  another  of  the  Spirit, — but  one  baptism, 
of  which  both  form  a  part. 

This  passage  has  been  wont  to  give  much,  trouble  to 
those  who  understand  "born  of  water"  to  refer  to  the 
modern  evacuated  baptism.  If  Scriptural  baptism  be 
understood,  there  can  be  no  difficulty;  for  "born  of 
water"  will  then  include  surrender  to  God,  laying 
hold  on  his  salvation,  and  the  forsaking  of  the 
old  life  and  entering  upon  a  new,  together  with 
retnission  of  sins  and  divine  acceptance  on  God's 
part.  Then,  in  immediate  connection  with  this,  and 
forming  a  part  of  the  one  birth,  is  the  bestowmenr. 

of  the   Holy   Spirit.      Ba])tism — the    jewel   with   its 

78 


THE    DIVINE    SIDE    OF    BAPTISM 

casket,  the  spiritual  element  with  its  physical  inves- 
titure— is  certainly  worthy  of  this  position. 

There  is  another  passage  which  speaks,  not  of  the 
outpouring,  but  of  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  applied  to  Christians  generally.  Paul  says  to 
the  Corinthians:  '*For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all 
baptized  into  one  body"  (1.  Cor.  xii.  13).  Here  we 
have  baptism  in  the  Spirit  bringing  its  subjects  into 
*'one  body."*  Let  it  be  noted  that  the  one  body 
here  spoken  of  refers  to  Christ,  or  the  body  of 
Christ  (see  preceding  verse).  Now,  we  learn  else- 
where that  it  is  the  very  purpose  of  baptism  to 
introduce  men  into  Christ — into  a  spiritual  union 
with  him  and  his  earthly  body,  the  church.  We 
now  discover  that  this  is  not  consummated  short  of 
baptism  in  the  Spirit.  This  is  supported  by  all  we 
know  of  such  a  relation  with  Christ.  Qur  union  wath 
Christ  consists  not  simply  in  our  being  in  him,  but 
also  in  his  being  in  us  (Jn.  xv.  3-6;  Gal.  ii.  20;  Rom. 
viii.  9,  10,  el  al)\  and  such  union  cannot  certainly 
reach  its  full  consummation  until  he  dwells  in  us  by 
his  Spirit. 

We  are  "saved"  by  the  "washing  of  regeneration" 
and  outpouring  (baptism)  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  we  are 
"born  again"  by  a  baptism  in  water  and  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  we  are  brought  into  the  body  of  Christ  b}^ 
being  baptized  in  water  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  are 
not  saved,  born  again,  nor  introduced  into  the  body  of 
Christ,  until  w^e  receive  the  Holy  Spirit;  and,  if  we 
lose  it,  we  are  no  longer  saved,  but  lost  (Rom.  viii.  9). 
The  time  when  men  are  saved  is  not  between  baptism 

*Thc  writer  is  not  unmindful  of  some  recent  criticism  favoring 
a  different  view;  but  it  is  believed  that  a  correct  view  of  the  con- 
text supports  the  rendering  of  the  Revised  Version,  "in  one 
spirit,"  the  baptism  being  a  baptism  in  the  Spirit. 

79 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

and  the  gift  of  the  PIol}^  Spirit,  but  at  the  point 
when  they  receive  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  recognize  this 
fact  will  be  no  small  gain  in  spirituality  of  concep- 
tion. It  makes  all  hinge  where  it  should,  and  where 
it  does  throughout  the  Christian  life,  namely,  on  the 
possession  of  the  "Spirit  of  Christ." 

Whether  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  understood 
as  taking  place  strictly  in  the  physical  act  of  baptism,* 
or  after  it,  it  seems  evident  that  the  two  are  regarded 
as  but  parts  of  one  transaction,  and  that  the  offices 
assigned  to  baptism  are  not  fulfilled  apart  from  the 
bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  belongs  to  the  divine  side  of  baptism. 


♦Alexander  Campbell  taught  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed 
in  baptism.     See  Christian  Baptist,  pp.  417,  436. 

80 


Division  XX* 

THE  VALUE  OF  BAPTISM  AS  A  STUMBLING- 
BLOCK. 


CHAPTER  I. 


§i.  N'ature  and  Uses  of  the  ''^ Stumbling-Block.^^ 
One  of  the  divine  characteristics  of  Christianity  is 
to  be  found  in  its  stumbling-blocks;  and  it  is  in  these 
that,  in  large  measure,  resides  its  tremendous  power 
over  the  human  heart.  This  feature  of  Christianity 
had  been  foreseen  in  prophetic  vision,  and  the  coming 
of  Christ  had  been  predicted  as  the  laying  in  Sion  of 
*'a  stumbling-stone  and  rock  of  offence."  When 
Christ  was  brought  an  infant  to  the  temple,  the  aged 
Simeon  said  of  him  that  he  was  *'set  for  the  fall  and 
rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign  which 
should  be  spoken  against";  while  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel  is  declared  by  Paul  to  have  proved  a 
stumbling-block   to  the  Jews. 

Christ  became  a  stumbling-block  by  what  he  taught, 
by  what  he  did,  and  most  of  all  by  what  he  demanded 
of  men;  and  that  he  himself  is  so  often  called  a 
stumbling-block,  docs  but  show  how  continually  he 
.placed  before  men  things  which  caused  them  to 
stumble.  John  had  declared  of  him  that  he  should 
have  a  winnowing  fan  in  his  hand,  and  that  he  should 
thoroughly  purge  his  floor;  and  it  is  true  that  his 
ministry  was  a  perpetual  winnowing  of  men,  driving 
men  away — causing  them  to  stumble — and  drawing 
them  to  him.  At  one  time  he  caused  all  his  disciples 
6  81 


MOKAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

except  the  twelve  to  desert  him.  They  went  away, 
but  not  forever.  We  hear  from  them  again  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost. 

On  one  occasion  a  young  man  came  running  to  him, 
and  asked  him  what  good  thing  he  must  do  to  inherit 
eternal  life.  Christ  referred  him  to  the  command- 
ments, naming  some  of  them,  and  the  young  nian 
declared  that  he  had  kept  them  all  from  his  youth  up, 
and  asked  what  yet  was  lacking.  With  his  unerring 
insight  into  the  secrets  of  the  human  heart,  Christ 
answered,  "Go,  sell  all  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the 
poor,  .  .  .  and  come,  follow  me."  Like  a  thun- 
derbolt riving  the  oak,  so  fell  this  sentence  upon  the 
young  ruler.  Amazed,  confounded,  dumb,  he  stood. 
He  stumbled — and  went  away  sorrowing,  for  he  was 
very  rich.  But  this  was  not  all.  A  few  moments 
before,  he  had  been  resting  in  the  assurance  that  he 
was  keeping  the  commandments,  but  like  a  gleam  of 
lightning,  this  sentence  had  flashed  into  his  soul,  and 
revealed,  not  God  enthroned  there,  but  Mammon. 
The  most  .fundamental  of  all  the  commandments  he 
was  breaking  continually.  He  was  not  loving  God,  as 
the  law  commanded,  with  his  "heart,  his  soul,  and 
his  might"  and  he  was  not  loving  his  neighbor  as 
himself,  for  he  was  surfeiting  in  wealth,  with  abject 
want  at  his  very  door.  This  was  strong  treatment, 
but  there  is  nothing  more  characteristic  of  Christ's 
ministry  than  his  appalling  faithfulness  with  men; 
and  they  have  studied  the  human  heart  to  little  pur- 
pose who  do  nqt  see  that  if  this  fails  to  convert  the 
young  man,  nothing  else  will  be  likely  to  do  so. 

This  is  the  great  service  of  the  stumbling-block.  It 
is  a  revelation.     From  the  address  of  Simeon  to  Mary 

(Lk.  ii.  34-36),  we  learn  four  things  about   it:     (1) 

82 


BAPTISM   AS   A    STUxMBLING-BLOCK 

It  causes  men  to  stumble,  to  "fall";  (2)  it  will  be 
"spoken  against";  (3)  by  it  the  deeper  "thoughts" 
of  men's'hearts  are  "revealed"  to  them  and  to  others; 
and  (4)  their  "fall"  is  with  a  view  to  their  "rising 
again."  The  R.  V.  reads  "rising  up"  instead  of 
"rising  again,"  indicating  that  those  who  fall  and 
those  who  rise  are  not  the  same  person,  and  it  was, 
alas!  too  true  that  many  of  those  who  fell  never  rose 
again,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  stumbling-blocks  of 
Christ  were  charged  with  tremendous  converting 
power.  Either  translation  does  full  justice  to  the 
original. 

In  Milton's  epic  Satan  sits  in  the  guise  of  an  inno- 
cent toad  at  the  ear  of  the  sleeping  Eve,  till  touched 
by  the  spear  of  Ithuriel,  when  he  starts  forth  in  all 
his  grizzly  deformity.  The  stumbling-block  is  an 
Ith Uriel's  spear,  dissolving  the  masks  of  character 
and  revealing  men  to  themselves;  and  in  this  revela- 
tion lies  one  of  the  tremendous  motive  powers  to 
their  conversion.  The  work  of  the  stum])ling-block 
is  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  converting  forces; 
nay,  it  is  itself  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  these 
forces.  As  the  wounded  hart  flees  from  the  hunts- 
man, bearing  in  its  body  the  fatal  arrow,  and  hides 
away  to  die  alone,  so  many  a  soul  fled  from  Christ, 
carrying  the  arrow  of  conviction,  but  to  writhe  alone 
in  the  agony  of  its  death  to  sin.  No  such  masterful 
work  was  ever  done  before  on  our  earth  as  this;  no 
such  mighty  hand  ever  swept  the  chords  of  the  human 
heart. 

The  reason  of  the  stumbling-block  and  the  neces- 
sity for  it  are  found  in  a  universal  fact  of  human 
nature — that   of  blindness  to  the  deeper  motives  of 

the   heart.      Water   is    transparent,    and    an    object 

83 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

lying  just  beneath  its  surface  is  easily  visible,  but 
the  depths  of  the  ocean  sleep  in  everlasting  dark- 
ness. Thus  it  is  with  the  profounder  motives  of  the 
heart;  nothing  but  deep-sea  soundings  can  bring 
forth  their  secrets.  They  did  not  err  who  inscribed 
in  letters  of  gold  above  the  door  of  a  famous  temple 
of  old  the  words,  Know  Thyself.  It  does  but 
express  the  painful  consciousness  of  the  noblest  of 
our  race. 

When  we  come  to  men  with  the  gospel,  we  do  not 
find  them  living  in  a  perpetual  battle  with  conscience, 
and  in  the  glare  of  a  condemning  light.  Men  soon 
conquer  their  way  to  a  congenial  darkness,  and  are  at 
rest  in  sin,  so  that  "having  eyes  they  see  not,  and 
having  ears  they  hear  not."  There  are  some  who  sin 
with  a  high  hand,  and  sear  their  conscience  as  with 
a  hot  iron,  until  its  sensibility  is  lost.  Others,  with 
less  of  violence,  administer  to  it  potions,  or  coax  it 
into  silence,  or  hedge  themselves  against  its  attacks. 
Some  hide  away  from  the  lightnings  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure by  crawling  into  certain  theories  or  systems 
of  belief  comforting  to  the  evil  doer,  and  are  proof 
against  the  most  powerful  appeals  to  duty.  But 
human  blindness  is  not  confined  to  those  classes  who 
stifle  conviction.  It  is  found  also  in  those  who  are 
candid  and  sincere.  There  was  never  a  more  honest- 
hearted  man  than  Simon  Peter,  and  he  was  never 
more  in  earnest  than  when  he  solemnly  declared  that 
he  would  never  deny  his  Master;  but  a  few  hours 
later  he  was  denying  him  with  an  oath.  Poor,  honest 
Peter.  There  were  depths  in  that  heart  of  his  which 
he  had  never  sounded.     The  rich  young  man  was  so 

amiable  that   Christ   loved  him;  but  to  him  it  was 

84 


BAPTISM  AS   A   STUMBLING-BLOCK 

to  be  revealed  that  his  heart  was  a  charnel-house  of 
ivorldliness. 

The  work  of  conversion,  therefore,  involves  a 
double  revelation — a  revelation  of  the  truth  from 
heaven,  and  a  revelation  of  the  heart  of  sin.  In  this 
latter  revelation  the  stumbling-block  is  the  most 
powerful  instrument.  Here  is  where  philosophy 
must  ever  fail.  It  may  teach  truth,  but  it  does  not 
charge  home  upon  men.  It  does  not  probe  and  re- 
veal men  to  themselves,  and  it  must  ever  be  power- 
less to  produce  that  marvelous  revolution — conver- 
sion. Beware  how  you  philosophize  Christianity 
away,  getting  rid  of  its  stumbling-blocks! 

One  form  or  the  stumbling-block  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  test-act,  such  as  was  used  in  the  case  of  the 
rich  young  man.  This  was  not  the  only  form  made 
use  of  by  Christ;  but  in  cases  where  applicable,  it  is 
the  most  perfect  of  all.  Its  revelations  are  with 
unerring  certainty.  It  is  better  than  an  angel  visitant 
or  a  voice  from  heaven.  It  is  demonstration.  It 
forces  the  soul  to  self-revelation.  It  is  the  experi- 
mental method  of  modern  science,  whose  question- 
ings of  nature  have  compelled  her  to  give  up  her 
most  cunning  secrets.  The  test-act  is  the  magic 
wand  by  which  the  man  of  science  everywhere  sub- 
dues nature  and  makes  it  obedient  to  the  will  of  man; 
and  this,  Christ  applied  to  the  human  heart  more 
than  eighteen  centuries  ago,  compe/ling  its  profound- 
est  secrets,  bringing  to  light  the  darkest  Africas  of  the 
human  soul,  opening  the  silent  and  shut  chambers, 
and  then  sowing  in  the  ghastly  death-vaults  of  the 
human  spirit  the  seeds  of  immortal  life.  This  tre- 
mendous engine  of  power  that  has  conquered  nature 

was  used  with  a  master  hand  by  the  only  One  who  has 

85 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

ever  conquered  the  human  heart;  and  it  worked  no 
less  royally  there  than  in  its  application  to  nature. 

We. now  face  a  momentous  question:  The  mighty 
hand  that  swept  the  harp  of  life  with  such  matchless 
power  is  no  longer  here.  He  who  used  the  stumbling- 
block  so  much  and  with  such  telling  effect  in  reveal- 
ing men  to  themselves  and  quickening  them  to  divine 
life,  has  gone  from  our  midst.  But  the  need  remains; 
the  human  heart  and  its  blindness  continue  as  before. 
Shall  Christ's  gospel  for  the  ages  contain  no  stumbling- 
block,  no  test-act?  If  not,  it  will  lack  one  of  the 
mightiest  agencies  of  his  personal  ministry  in  moving 
men  to  righteousness. 

%2.     Baptism  as  a  Stumhling-BlocJc. 

Blindness  regarding  the  state  of  the  heart  is  a  far- 
reaching  fact  in  human  nature,  and  is  to  be  found,  as 
we  have  seen,  not  alone  in  the  low  and  vicious,  but 
also  in  the  candid  and  amiable.  It  is  not  confined  to 
the  ignorant,  but  held  in  its  thrall  in  Christ's  time  the 
highest  classes  of  the  Jewish  nation,  even  under  the 
blaze  of  divine  revelation,  who  being  "blind  leaders  of 
the  blind,"  and  having  "ej^es  to  see"  but  seeing  not, 
felt  secure  in  a  righteousness  which,  like  the  whited 
sepulchre,  was  filled  with  rottenness  within.  And  yet 
these  men  were  not  mountebanks;  they  were  "blind." 
Their  hypocrisy  was  of  that  deeper  kind  which  is  un- 
conscious. 

Any  system  for  the  redemption  of  man  which  should 
ignore  this  great  world-fact  would  be  unworthy  of  the 
divine  wisdom,  and  possess  a  fatal  defect,  which 
would  render  it  powerless  for  the  cure  of  sin.  Of 
what  use  were  light  where  men  are  blind?  Of  what 
use  would  have  been  revelations  from  heaven  or  the 
most   powerful  appeals  to  duty  with  the  rich  young 


BAPTISM  AS  A   STUMBLING-BLOCK 

man,  who  felt  that  he  was  keeping  the  whole  law 
blameless — his  sightless  eyes  sealed  against  the  light? 

With  all  divine  resources  at  his  command,  Christ 
during  his  personal  ministry  chose  the  test-act  as  the 
best  and  most  effective  means  of  dealing  with  such 
cases.  What  shall  his  gospel  now  do  for  them?  Shall 
it  leave  such  cases  in  their  sleep  of  security  till  the 
trump  of  doom  shall  reveal  to  them  their  mistake,  or 
shall  it  have  its  stumbling-block,  its  test-act? 

To  all  those  who  think  that  their  hearts  are  right, 
and  that  they  are  living  righteously,  the  gospel  says : 
Stand  out  there  before  men  and  in  the  presence  of 
Heaven,  and  say,  not  with  cheap  words,  but  by  a  sol- 
emn act  of  consecration:  "I  forsake  my  old  life  for- 
ever. I  burn  all  bridges  behind  me.  I  give  myself  to 
God  and  his  service,  though  it  cause  the  loss  of  every 
earthly  good,  and  even  life  itself.  Forever  and  for- 
ever, O  God,  I  give  myself  wholly  to  thee.  Accept 
me  thine."  Ah!  here  is  a  stumbling-block.  No  man 
who  wishes  to  cling  to  the  world  with  one  hand  and 
grasp  heaven  with  the  other  is  ready  for  this.  To  no 
man  who  is  not  in  dead  earnest  is  it  welcome.  Im- 
posture aside,  no  worldly-minded  man  realizing  the 
step  can  leap  this  barrier.  No  simply  good,  moral  man 
likes  this.  To  all  but  the  profoundly  penitent  and 
loyal,  it  is  a  stumbling-block  a  high  wall  which  they 
have  not  the  spiritual  power  to  scale.  Like  a  break- 
water, it  is  ever  hurling  back  the  floods  of  humanity 
who  would  sweep  into  the  covenant  of  promise.  With 
consummate  statesmanship  it  is  framed  to  turn  back 
all  but  the  truly  penitent.  You  say,  "If  baptism  in- 
volves all  this,  it  is  an  awful  thing.''  It  is  even  so.  It 
is  awful  because,  like  death,  it  is  a  going  to  meet  one's 

God;  but  to  the  penitent,  it  is  the  bliss  of  the  nuptial 

87 


MOEAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

hour.  It  is  the  rush  of  the  prodigal  into  the  father's 
arms.     It  is  the  supreme  joy  of  a  ransomed  soul. 

But  baptism,  as  a  stumbling-block,  does  more  than 
cause  the  impenitent  to  stumble.  True  to  its  nature 
as  a  stumbling-block,  by  it  "the  thoughts  of  many 
hearts"  are  revealed  (Lk.  ii.  35).  It  is  seen  at  once 
that  it  contains  nothing  that  should  be  unwelcome  to 
the  truly  loyal,  and  yet  the  hearts  of  all  amiable 
worldlings,  and  of  those  whose  repentance  is  defective, 
say,  no.  To  all  such  it  brings  absolute  demonstration, 
as  Christ's  test-act  did  to  the  rich  young  man,  that 
within  their  hearts,  not  God,  not  righteousness,  but 
the  world,  sits  enthroned.  It  is  a  revelation  to  the 
amiable  worldling,  to  the  "moral  man,"  to  all  the  un- 
spiritual,  that  their  righteousness  is  superficial  and  has 
no  true  heart-foundation.  It  is  an  Ithuriel's  spear, 
dissolving  the  masks  of  character,  and  revealing 
hearts  in  their  true  light.  Baptism  is  a  divine  revela- 
tion to  the  individual  soul.  The  New  Testament  re- 
veals the  truth  from  heaven;  baptism  reveals  the 
heart.  The  New  Testament  meets  human  ignorance; 
baptism  meets  human  blindness.  Baptism  cannot  re- 
veal what  the  New  Testament  reveals — the  truth  from 
heaven.  The  New  Testament  cannot,  like  baptism, 
unmask  certain  inveterate  deceptions  of  the  heart. 
The  New  Testament  is  sunlight;  baptism  is  a  search- 
light. It  is  a  revelation  as  holy,  as  divine,  and  well- 
nigh  as  necessary,  as  the  New  Testament. 

Let  any  one  recognizing  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
who  hears  7io  in  his  heart  to  baptism,  take  heed.  It  is 
a  revelation  of  awful  moment,  and  is  as  certain  as 
though  spoken  by  a  voice  out  of  heaven.  It  means 
that  the  heart  is  not  right.  Let  such  a  one  beware 
lest  he 


BAPTISM    AS   A   STUMBLING-BLOCK 


*dash,  with  a  blind  and  heavy  crash, 


Up  against  the  thick-bossed  shield  of  God's  judgment  in  the  field." 

How  gracious  in  God  to  submit  this  test  of  spiritu- 
ality, before  granting  the  assurance  of  divine  accept- 
ance! How  merciful  not  to  allow  men  to  claim  the 
promise  of  remission  of  sins  on  their  own  self-inspec- 
tion! How  fatuous  would  it  be  in  the  church  to 
remove  this  test,  and  compel  the  soul  to  take  this  most 
momentous  step  of  its  existence  in  the  dark! 

But  baptism  is  more  than  a  revelation.  It  is  not 
only  true  that  by  it  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  are 
revealed,  but  it  is  also  "set  for  the  fall  and  rising 
again  of  many."  This  revelation  of  unsuspected  un- 
worthiness  puts  conflict  within-  the  soul,  wakes  the 
thunders  of  conscience,  and  brings  to  battle  the  hostile 
forces  of  righteousness  and  evil.  Alas!  this  battle  is 
with  various  issue,  and  many  fall  never  to  rise  again; 
but  this  is  better  than  the  peace  of  spiritual  death,  for 
with  multitudes  the  issue  is  unto  eternal  life.  Baptism 
is  therefore  one  of  the  strong  converting  forces  of  the 
gospel. 

Baptism  is  more  than  this.  It  is  a  winnowing-fan, 
separating  the  chaff  from  the  wheat.  It  is  ever  turn- 
ing back  the  flood-tides  of  the  unspiritual  seeking 
entrance  among  the  redeemed.  It  is  a  wall  skillfully 
built  to  keep  out  those  who  are  not  penitent  and  loyal, 
and  by  this  service  it  becomes  a  protector  of  the  spir- 
ituality of  the  church.  Take  it  away,  and  the  world 
and  the  church  would  flow  together,  and  the  church 
would  be  lost  in  the  sea  of  unredeemed  humanity. 
He  who  strikes  baptism  strikes  not  only  the  great 
heart  of  the  world,  smiting  down  one  of  its  mighty 
redeeming  forces,  but  deals  a  blow  at  the  spirituality 
of  the  church.     Baptism  is  God's  tall  sentinel  angel. 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

guarding  the  door  of  his  kingdom,  and  protecting  the 
high  spiritual  sanctities  of  our  holy  religion. 

Strike  baptism  down,  and  we  all  fall  down,  Chris- 
tianity fades  into  a  philosophy  or,  what  is  little  differ- 
ent, a  mere  body  of  revealed  truth,  conversions  to  any 
extent  cease,  and  that  marvelous  organization  of  spir- 
itual forces  for  the  redemption  of  man,  embodied  in 
the  church  of  Christ,  perishes  from  the  earth.* 

Let  us  now  pause  and  look  around  us.  Is  baptism 
doing  all  this  glorious  work  to-day?  Our  sad  answer 
must  be.  No — at  least,  only  in  part.  But  why  not? 
This  question  must  be  reserved  for  another  chapter. 


*Kven  though  the  spiritual  part  of  baptism — the  complete  giving 
up  to  God — should  remain,  yet,  if  this  be  not  provided  with  an 
outward  expression,  there  can  be  no  visible  line  of  separation  be- 
tween the  church  and  the  world,  and  the  church  must  lose  its 
identity,  and  the  great  purpose  of  its  existence  must  fail.  It  may 
be  supposed  that  confession  might  answer  the  purpose  of  a  dividing 
line,  even  though  baptism  were  discarded,  but  this  could  only  be 
by  changing  the  confession  (Mt.  xvi.  16)  both  in  substance  and 
function,  and  putting  as  much  of  the  character  of  baptism  into  it 
as  possible,  and  even  then  Christianity  would  suffer  a  great  loss, 
as  we  shall  see  iu  the  next  chapter. 

90 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHEAPENING   BAPTISM. 

It  was  seen  in  the  last  chapter  that  baptism  is 
admirably  adapted  as  a  stumbling-block  to  all  those 
who  are  unspiritual  and  lacking  in  loyalty  to  God: 
that  it  is  a  revealer  of  men's  hearts;  that  this  self- 
revelation  furnishes  a  powerful  motive  to  repentance ; 
and  that,  by  turning  back  the  unspiritual,  it  becomes 
a  winnowing-fan,  safe-guarding  the  spirituality  of  the 
church. 

But  it  is  sadly  true  that  these  high  ends  are  being 
but  partially  and  imperfectly  accomplished  by  it,  and 
for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  duly  honored  by  the 
church. 

The  great  motive  for  cheapening  baptism  must  be 
found  in  the  fact  that,  as  it  stands  in  the  gospel,  it  is 
displeasing  to  many.  It  has  had  a  stormy  history,  and 
is  still  bending  under  a  shower  of  adverse  criticism. 
To  many,  this  may  seem  suflScient  proof  that  there  is 
something  wrong  about  it;  but  they  forget  that  it  is  of 
the  very  nature  of  a  stumbling-block  that  it  should  be 
"spoken  against,"  and  that  this  is  one  of  the  highest 
marks  of  its  excellency  and  efficiency.  Men  never 
like  that  which  causes  them  to  stumble,  and  if  baptism 
were  not  disliked,  it  would  be  worthless  as  a  test-act. 
But  the  disastrous  thing  about  it  is,  that  the  church 
has  largely  joined  in  this  adverse  criticism,  to  the 
belittling  and  cheapening  of  baptism. 

When  an  amiable  worldling  who  thinks  that  he  is 

living  a  worthy  righteousness  finds  in  his  heart  a  no  to 

baptism,  if  the  church   shall   join  with   him,  and  tell 

91 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

him  that  it  is  a  "mere  outward  act,"  a  mere  physical 
affair  having  no  important  relation  to  his  conversion, 
and  that  it  is  a  "non-essential," — that  it  has  nothing 
to  do  with  his  salvation, — ih^y  utterly  ruin  it  as  a  test- 
act.  The  man  takes  no  alarm  at  his  aversion  to  it,  and 
concludes  that  it  is  not  his  heart  that  is  wrong,  but 
baptism.  In  doing  this,  the  church  has  put  out  the 
search-light  that  the  gospel  was  carrying  into  that 
man's  heart;  it  has  slain  the  angel  that  was  coming  to 
his  rescue.  Woe  to  those  who  put  out  lights  in  this 
darkw^orld!  Let  such  take  care  lest  they  be  found 
fighting  against  God.  The  wreckers  off  the  coast  of 
California  who,  in  an  early  day,  were  wont  to  quench 
the  beacons  on  stormy  nights,  that  ships  might  be 
wrecked,  were  monsters.  But  had  they  done  their 
fatal  work  without  designing  it,  the  results  would  have 
been  no  less  disastrous.  What  would  the  New  Testa- 
ment be  worth,  should  the  church  decry  it,  belittle  it, 
and  discredit  it  before  the  world? 

Put  out  the  New  Testament,  the  light  from  heaven, 
and  the  world  would  walk  in  darkness.  Let  it  shine, 
but  put  out  baptism,  that  search-light  of  the  heart, 
and,  heart-blind,  many  must  still  abide  in  darkness. 
Stand  by  baptism ;  declare  with  awful  earnestness  that 
it  is  a  divine  demand  of  vast  importance;  show  that  it 
is  reasonable,  and  requires  nothing  that  should  not  be 
welcome  to  the  truly  loyal,  and  that  objection  to  it 
means  nothing  less  than  spiritual  death;  charge  home 
upon  men  with  a  cry  as  to  the  perishing — and  you 
shall  wake  thunders  that  shall  startle  them  from  their 
fatal  security  and  quicken  them  to  repentance.  Honor 
baptism,  use  it  aright,  and  you  have  in  your  hand  a 
mighty  power  for  the  conversion  of  men. 

But  dissatisfaction  with    baptism    will  not  stop  at 

92 


CHEAPENING   BAPTISM 

adverse  criticism.  Men  will  lay  violent  hands  upon  it, 
and  seek  to  get  it  out  of  the  way,  wholly  or  in  part. 
It  is  asked,  "Why  not  dispense  with  any  external  act, 
and  let  profession  consist  in  a  mere  verbal  announce- 
ment?" There  is  something  wrong  in  the  very  wish 
to  do  this.  I  have  endeavored  to  show,  in  a  recent 
chapter,  that  the  new-born  love  of  a  true  penitent 
craves  such  an  act  of  expression;  and,  if  this  be  true, 
a  desire  to  dispense  with  it  would  indicate  that  the 
heart  is  not  right. 

But  what  effect  would  cheapening  baptism  down  to 
a  mere  verbal  announcement  have? 

A  witness  stands  in  court  ready  to  testify,  but  the 
court  will  not  hear  him  till  it  has  first  thrown  a  stum- 
bling-block in  the  way  of  bearing  false  witness.  An 
officer  says  to  him,  "Raise  your  hand  to  heaven,  and 
solemnly  swear  that  you  will  tell  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  only — and  now  solemnly  pray,  'So  help  me, 
God!'  "  Instead  of  this,  should  the  judge  simply 
say,  "I  suppose  you  intend  to  tell  the  truth,  sir," 
would  it  make  no  difference?  Ask  the  courts 
of  all  civilized  nations.  Ask  your  own  heart.  No 
doubt  oaths  are  often  lightly  taken,  but  the  act  of 
solemnly  facing  God  and  eternity  at  this  point  has  a 
vast  influence  on  truth-telling  in  our  courts.  It  has 
great  value  as  a  stumbling-block;  but  the  solemn  em- 
phasis of  the  civil  oath  utterly  pales  before  the  awful 
solemnity  of  Christian  baptism.  Save  the  subdued 
silence  of  the  death  chamber,  and  the  passage  of  a 
soul  into  the  great  Unseen,  there  is  nothing  in  our 
world  so  sublimely  solemn.  To  reduce  this  sublime 
act  to  a  mere  verbal  announcement  would  be  to  well- 
nigh  level  it  to  the  ground  as  a  stumbling-block — to 

destroy  its  usefulness  as  a  test-act. 

93 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

A  friend  of  the  writer  once  asked  a  sympathetic 
audience  how  many  desired  to  live  the  Christian  life. 
Nearly  every  one  responded  affirmatively.  The  same 
day,  I  believe,  he  gave  the  gospel  invitation  to  attest 
that  desire  by  a  solemn  act  of  profession  before 
Heaven  and  earth,  and  7iot  one  responded,  though  the 
views  of  most  of  the  audience  accorded  with  those  of 
the  preacher.  Here  was  the  stumbling-block.  Here 
was  the  difference  between  baptism  and  cheap  words. 
Many  of  the  half-hearted  would  be  ready  to  declare  a 
purpose  to  serve  God,  who  would  hesitate  at  an  awful 
act  of  solemnity  speaking  the  loud  eloquence  of  a  pro- 
found repentance.  But  baptism  is  designed  to  keep 
out  the  half-hearted.  Such  are  not  wanted.  Beware 
how  you  meddle  with  God's  stumbling-blocks! 

Along  the  same  line,  but  proceeding  less  far,  is  the 
practice  of  replacing  the  baptism  of  the  gospel  by  cer- 
tain faint  substitutes,  consisting  in  various  other 
applications  of  water. 

To  its  credit  be  it  said  that  these  substitutes  did  not 
have  their  origin  in  the  Christianity  of  to-day;  but  it 
is  to  be  lamented  that  many  Christian  people  of  our 
time  should  feel  called  upon  to  perpetuate  these 
changes  of  a  divine  institution  arising  in  a  ruder  and 
more  unspiritual  age.  There  is  one  thing  about  all 
these  substitutes  that  may  be  thought  to  be  in  their 
favor — they  are  convenient.  The  baptism  of  the  gos- 
pel causes  some  trouble.  But  this  supposed  defect  is 
valuable  to  baptism  as  a  stumbling-block.  It  is  of  vast 
importance  to  Christianity  to  keep  out  the  ease-loving. 
Baptism  ought  not  to  be  convenient.  Christ's  cross 
was  not  convenient,  and  our  cross-bearing  should  not 
be.     The  science  of  biology  teaches  that  ease-taking 

on  the  part  of  any  creature  results  in  degeneration — 

94 


CHEAPENING   BAPTISM 

dying  clown  to  a  lower  level  of  being.  Ease-seeking 
in  religion  is  nothing  less  than  spiritual  death,  and  all 
such  tendencies  should  be  resisted.  Baptism,  as  a 
stumbling-block,  should  be  built  so  high  and  strong  as 
to  repel  all  the  unspiritual  and  ease-loving — every 
other  being  but  the  humble  penitent  fleeing  with  a 
broken  heart  to  the  arms  of  his  Redeemer.  Love  is 
always  heroic,  and  baptism,  within  and  without,  should 
be  a  wall  so  high  that  the  unheroic  who  are  unwilling 
to  sacrifice  will  not  leap  it.  The  primitive  church 
were  a  band  of  heroes,  and  they  shook  the  world. 
Were  we  like  them,  the  world  would  hear  our  thunders 
at  its  battlements.  Beware  how  you  cheapen  baptism, 
making  it  more  acceptable  to  the  half-hearted! 

While  it  is  plain  that  as  a  test-act  baptism  should  be 
repellant  to  the  unrepentant,  it  is  also  true  that  there 
should  be  nothing  in  it  to  repel  the  truly  penitent. 
Christian  baptism  not  only  fulfills  this  condition,  but 
goes  beyond  it,  presenting  a  strong  attraction  to  the 
convert  by  satisfying  one  of  his  deepest  cravings. 
And  in  this  matter  the  particular  act  chosen  is  by  no 
means  without  its  use.  All  acts  are  not  alike  in  this 
respect.  One  of  the  strongest  cravings  of  love  is  for 
solidarity  with  the  object  of  its  affection.  It  would 
share  the  sorrows  and  misfortunes  of  the  loved  one. 
Nor  does  this  craving  halt  at  the  merely  useful.  One 
of  love's  most  powerful  yearnings  is  to  pour  itself 
into  acts  expressive  of  such  solidarity,  and  it  finds  in 
them  a  deep  satisfaction.     Evangeline 

"Sat  by  some  nameless  grave,  and  thought  that,  perhaps,  in  its 

bosom 
He  was  already  at  rest,  and  she  longed  to  slumber  beside  him." 

It  could  not  be  useful,  but  she  yearned  to  be  with 

95 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

the  loved  one  in  his  death.  Romeo  and  Juliet  die  by 
each  other's  side.  It  could  do  them  no  good  other 
than  to  satisfy  the  heart's  great  hunger.  They  would 
be  with  each  other  in  death.  Quasimodo  creeps  into 
the  festering  charnel-house,  and  starves  to  death  by 
the  body  of  La  Esmeralda.  It  could  do  her  no  good, 
but  he  longed  to  pour  out  his  devotion  in  such  an  act 
of  fidelity,  and  that  longing  was  stronger  than  life, 
He  would  be  with  her  in  her  death.  Longfellow. 
Shakespeare  and  Victor  Hugo  were  not  mistaken  in 
their  readings  of  the  human  heart.  The  world  is  full 
of  such  things.  They  gem  the  skies  of  history  as  stars 
jewel  the  midnight  heavens,  and  glorify  its  brutal 
pages  with  their  holy  light. 

The  act  of  baptism  answers  to  this  craving  of  the 
convert's     newborn     love     for     solidarity    with  his 
Redeemer.     It  would  be  with  him  in  his  death.     The 
convert  is  therefore  "baptized  into  his  death."     It  is 
not  that  it  is  a  burial  and  resurrection  that  makes  bap- 
tism so  dear  to  the  convert;  it  is  that  he  is  "buried 
with   Christ  in  baptism,"  and  rises  ivith  him.     This 
sense  of  solidarity  in  baptism  is  not  a  new  thought. 
It  was  the  thought  of  the  early  Christians,  and  is  so 
represented  by  Paul;  and  it  was  thus  that  it  answered 
to  the  holy  cravings  of  their  passionate  love.     They 
longed   to   descend    into   the   lowest   grave   of    their 
Savior,  to  be  buried  with  him,  to  be  with  him  in  his 
humiliation  as  in  his  victory,  in  his  death  as  in  his  life. 
What  other  act  could  so  mirror  this  feeling?     Into 
what  other  act  could  hungry  love  pour  itself  with  such 
satisfaction?      What   other   act    so    perfectly  gloves 
love's  holy  hand?     That  baptism  should  be  a  burial 
and  resurrection  is  not  a  mere  fancy.     It  has  a  deeper 

reason — the  craving  of  the  soul  for  an  act  expressive 

96 


CHEAPENING    BAPTISM 

of  solidarity  with  Christ — a  craving  which,  with  our 
earthly  loves,  has  often  been  stronger  than  life  itself. 
Christian  baptism  is  the  most  eloquent  thing  in  the 
world.  It  chariots  intp  expression  the  sublimest  pas- 
sion of  the  human  heart — the  newborn  love  of  the 
soul  for  its  Redeemer.  Let  none  essay  to  receive  it 
whose  heart  has  not  first  become  eloquent  with  love's 
great  burden.     Else  it  were  mockery. 

I  cannot  pass  without  saying  that  the  setting  forth 
of  immersion  as  a  mere  legal  condition  of  salvation  is 
a  woeful  cheapening  of  baptism  on  its  spiritual  side; 
and  it  will  hardly  take  place  unless  the  preacher's  own 
religion  has  already  stiffened  into  legalism.  A  legal 
conversion  and  a  legal  Christian  life  is  a  wretched 
travesty  on  Christianity,  and  is  obnoxious  to  all  the 
thunders  of  Christ's  invective  against  the  legalism  of 
his  day. 

Baptism,  within  and  without,  has  been  subjected  to 
almost  every  mutilation  which  it  were  possible  to  con- 
ceive; and  as  it  stands  before  us  to-day,  its  marred 
visage  speaks  of  the  blind  and  unholy  centuries 
through  which  it  has  passed.  It  is  time  to  have  done 
with  cheapening  baptism.  The  principle  of  Protest- 
antism demands  that  it  be  restored  to  its  true  dignity 
and  function  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament;  and 
it  has  been  the  aim  of  these  chapters  to  show  that 
reason  makes  the  same  demand.  It  is  only  a  shallow 
rationalism  that  discounts  baptism;  for  it  finds  its 
raison  d'etre  in  the  very  laws  of  the  human  mind,  par- 
ticularly those  of  the  heart,  and  a  true  rationalism 
requires  its  complete  restoration  to  its  Scriptural  dig- 
nity and  position.  Reason,  no  less  than  Scripture, 
declares  it  to  be  by  its  very  nature  a  proper  condition 

of    salvation,  and  one  of  the  strong  spiritual  forces 
7  97 


MOEAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

in  human  redemption.  It  is  time  that  the  church 
ceased  to  join  with  the  world  in  depreciating  it.  I 
shall  close  this  chapter  with  a  fact  from  history: 

Jesus  Christ  never  made  any  pretensions  in  science, 
and  claimed  nothing  in  literature,  but  he  did  under- 
take to  found  a  kingdom  that  should  not  be  moved. 
He  professed  to  be  a  spiritual  statesman  of  more  than 
human  wisdom.  Has  he  made  good  that  claim?  Com- 
pare his  work  with  that  of  the  tallest  sons  of  human 
genius,  and  be  silent. 

The  church  has  ever  been  trying  to  mend  Chris- 
tianity, and  has  given  us  its  thousand  heresies  and 
Roman  Catholicism,  beside  all  which  Primitive  Chris- 
tianity shines  in  lonely  splendor.  Christian  baptism 
proceeded  from  Christ.  Let  no  one  undertake  to 
mend  it  who  has  not  first  matched  his  statesmanship* 


Division  XIX. 

BAPTISM  AS   A    MEASURE    OF    FAITH,   AND 
AS  A  RATIFYING  ACT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BAPTISM    A  MEASURE    OF    THE    FAITH    OF    CONVERSION. 

It  was  shown  in  the  last  chapter  that  baptism,  in  its 
character  of  a  test-act,  serves  not  only  to  reveal  the 
deeper  motives  of  the  heart,  but  to  repel  all  who  are 
half-hearted  in  their  desire  to  serve  Christ.  It  now 
remains  to  consider  the  subject  at  greater  length  and 
from  a  different  point  of  view. 

The  New  Testament  teaches  that  salvation  is  by 
faith.  But  by  a  moment's  reflection  we  shall  discover 
that  faith  is  not  a  fixed  quantity;  and  we  stand  face  to 
face  with  a  most  important  question — that  of  Spiritual 
Dynamics. 

§  /.     /Salvation  is  by  Strong  Faith. 

All  the  elements  which  enter  into  the  composition 
of  Christian  faith  may  exist  in  any  degree  of  strength 
or  weakness.  Trust,  as  is  well  known,  may  be  strong 
or  weak;  the  force  of  will  by  which  men  adhere  to 
Christ  may  be  strong  or  very  feeble;  and  the  love 
which  men  bear  to  him  may  range  in  its  strength  from 
a  controlling  passion  to  a  faint  and  shadowy  emotion. 
Faith,  therefore,  in  all  its  elements,  may  be  very  weak 
or  very  strong,  or  may  mark  any  intermediate  degree 
between. 

Now,  what  renders  this  a  matter  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance is  the  fact  that  faith  has  a  definite  work  to 

99 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

accomplish  in  the  Christian  life.  It  is  not  a  mere  fan- 
ciful condition  of  salvation,  arbitrarily  imposed  on 
men,  but  is  a  necessary  means  in  reaching  a  definite 
end.  If  it  does  this,  it  serves  its  purpose;  if  it  does 
not,  it  is  worthless,  and  rightly  has  no  more  to  do  with 
salvation  from  sin  than  any  other  useless  thing.  To 
suppose  that  God  interposes  any  unnecessary  condition 
between  man  and  his  salvation  is  to  impeach  his  good- 
ness. Faith  is  the  power  behind  a  righteous  life.  The 
end  which  faith  is  designed  to  serve  is,  to  bind  the 
soul  to  Christ  in  despite  of  many  opposing  influences, 
and  carry  it  forward  in  a  heroic  effort  to  realize  a 
righteous  life.  If  it  fail  in  this,  its  work  is  abortive. 
But  this  task  is  one  of  no  small  difficulty,  and  one 
which  a  loeak  faith  cannot  accomplish.  Has  Chris- 
tianity, then,  made  salvation  depend  on  faith  (no 
matter  how  weak),  or  on  strong  faith?  If  it  has  done 
the  former,  it  has  committed  a  grave,  if  not  fatal, 
blunder  in  spiritual  dynamics.  If  it  has  committed 
such  a  blunder,  how  is  it  that  it  has  not  long  ago  per- 
ished? The  inventor  must  understand  physical  dynam- 
ics; the  statesman  must  understand  and  rightly  meas- 
ure the  impalpable  forces  which  sway  great  bodies  of 
men;  and  Christianity  must  make  no  mistake  in  spir- 
itual dynamics,  or  it  is  doomed.  Nothing  is  more  re- 
markable about  Christianity  than  the  wonder  of  its 
statesmanship;  it  has  made  no  mistake  there. 

Let  us  say,  then,  that  the  Scriptures  do  not  teach 
that  a  man  is  justified  and  saved  simply  hy  faith ^  but 
by  strong  faith.  Paul,  in  his  great  argument  on  justi- 
fication, describes  Abraham's  faith  thus: 

"Who  in  hope  believed  against   hope,  to  the  end 

that  he  might  become  a  father  of  many  nations,  ac  - 

cording  to  that  which  had  been  spoken,  So  shall  th/ 

100 


BAPTISM   A   MEASURE   OF   THE    FAITH   OF   CONVERSION 

seed  be.  And  without  being  weakened  in  faith  he 
considered  his  own  body  now  as  good  as  dead  (he  being 
about  a  hundred  years  old)  and  the  deadness  of 
Sarah's  womb:  yea,  looking  unto  the  promise  of  God, 
he  wavered  not  through  unbelief,  but  waxed  strong 
through  faith,  giving  glory  to  God,  and  being  fully 
assured  that,  what  he  had  promised,  he  was  able  also 
to  perform"  (Rom.  iv.  18-21). 

Here  is  a  description  of  strong,  heroic  faith ;  and 
immediately  after  speaking  of  it  as  "strong"  and 
"fully  assured,"  Paul  proceeds:  "Wherefore  also  it 
was  reckoned  unto  him  for  righteousness"  (v.  22). 
In  the  original  narrative  in  Gen.  xv.,  no  such  descrip- 
tion is  given,  as  this,  of  Abraham's  faith.  It  is  not 
said  to  be  unwavering,  strong,  or  fully  assured,  though 
the  conditions  show  it  to  have  been  all  these.  Why 
does  Paul,  then,  so  describe  it,  and  multiply  epithets 
until  the  picture  stands  before  us  sublime?  and  then, 
why  does  he  hinge  his  "wherefore"  on  this? 

If  justification  may  be  reached  by  any  faith,  weak 
or  strong,  Paul's  whole  argument  on  justification  falls 
to  the  ground.  To  prove  that  a  giant  can  lift  two 
thousand  pounds  does  not  prove  that  a  weakling  can 
do  it.  The  fact  that  a  strong,  robust  man  is  received 
at  a  recruiting-station  furnishes  no  evidence  that  a 
weak  one  would  be.  The  case  of  Abraham,  both  in 
itself  and  as  stated  by  Paul,  proves  absolutely  nothing 
further  than  that  God  will  justify  a  man  who  has 
strong  fsiith.  in  him;  and  no  more  supports  the  con- 
clusion that  he  will  justify  a  man  of  weak  faith,  than 
that  he  will  justify  one  who  has  no  faith  at  all. 

But  when  Paul  comes  to  apply  this  argument  from 
the  life  of  Abraham  to  the  case  of  conversion,  why 
does  he  not  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  convert  is 

101 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

also  justified  by  a  strong  faith?  The  answer  is,  that 
he  does.  His  language  is:  "Now  it  was  not  written 
for  his  [Abraham's]  sake  alone,  that  it  was  reckoned 
unto  him;  but  for  our  sake  also,  unto  whom  it  shall 
be  reckoned,  who  believe  on  him  that  raised  Jesus  our 
Lord  from  the  dead"  (vv.  23,  24).  In  deducing  the 
conclusion  from  Abraham's  strong,  fully  assured 
faith,  Paul  says  that  "^^'  (this  strong  faith)  is  also 
reckoned  unto  us  who  believe  on  him,  etc.  What  this 
phrase  ("believe  on  him")  means,  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  show  later  on  in  this  work;  but  that  Christian 
faith  must  be  strong  faith,  there  is  ample  evidence 
near  at  hand  to  show.  Let  us  pause  here,  however,  to 
say  that  it  is  only  truth  to  the  facts  that  can  lead  Paul 
to  give  this  bold  characterization  of  Abraham's  faith, 
since  he  is  not  aiming  to  prove  that  any  particular  de- 
gree of  faith  is  essential,  but  to  show  that  faith  rather 
than  works  is  the  condition  of  justification.  We  have 
here,  therefore,  one  of  those  side-lights  on  a  great 
subject  which  are  so  characteristic  of  Paul.  His  logic 
is  not  cold  and  prosaic,  but  sunlit,  and  full  of  the  small 
blemishes  of  one  whose  soul  is  on  fire.  His  argument 
did  not  require  this  side-sweep  into  a  kindred  subject, 
but  let  us  be  thankful  that  he  has  let  us  know  by  a 
few  bold  strokes  what  he  thought  on  this  important 
matter.  The  Pauline  idea  is,  that  men  are  justified  by 
strong  faith. 

But  if  Paul,  in  the  rush  of  his  argument,  could  not 
stay  to  say  much  on  this  subject,  the  Master  did  not 
lack  for  time  to  say  some  very  definite  things  regard- 
ing it.  When,  at  one  time,  he  was  being  followed  by 
"great  multitudes"  who  seemed  to  be  adhering  to  him 

by  some  feeble,  insufficient  bond, — trusting  him  some- 

102 


BAPTISM  A  SIEASURE   OF   THE  FAITH   OF   CONVERSION 

what,  and  being,  perhaps,  faintly  loyal  to  him, — he 
turned  to  them  and  said : 

'*If  any  man  cometh  unto  me,  and  hateth  not  his 
own  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and 
brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his 
own  cross,  and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  dis- 
ciple. ...  So  therefore  whosoever  he  be  of  you 
that  renounceth  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  my 
disciple"  (Luke  xiv.  26-33). 

This  language  is  very  positive;  and  certainly  a  bond 

which  will  snap  all  earthly  ties,  however  dear,  rather 

than  forsake  Christ,  and  which  will  draw  men  away 

from  all  that  has  been  most  cherished  in  their  own 

lives,  is  not  a  weak  one.     The  element  of  adherence 

in  such  a  faith  is  nothing  short  of  heroic.     If  these 

plain,  faithful  words  of  the  Master  are  true,  none  but 

heroes  can  be  his  disciples.   Will  it  be  said,  "This  is  a 

hard  saying;  who  can  hear  it?"     The  answer  is.  It  is 

better  to  hear  it  now  than  to  hear  it  from  his  own  lips 

when  it  is  too  late.     It  was  this  one  fact,  laid  to  heart 

by  the  primitive  church,  that  drove  the  little  band  like 

a  plough-share  through  the  Roman  Empire,  and  gave 

Christianity  to  the  ages.     Let  it  be  laid  to  heart  now, 

and  it  will  bring  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  down  from 

God  out  of  heaven  in  the  twentieth  century,  and  the 

tabernacle  of  God   shall  be  with  men.     The  master 

heresy  of  any  age  is,  that  justification  may  be  reached 

by  a  weak   faith.     None  but  the  heroic  can  ever  be 

true  and  accepted  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.     To  speak 

of  an  unheroic  Christian  is  a  contradiction  of  terms. 

Astonishing  as  Christ's  demand  may  seem  to  some,  it 

must  be   seen   that   he   could   not   consistently  have 

required  less. 

103 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

§  2.     How  Strong  Must  Faith  Be9 

This  now  brings  us  to  another  urgent  and  vital 
question:  If  salvation  be  not  simply  by  faith,  but  by 
strong  faith,  the  question  arises,  How  strong?  Until 
this  is  decided  no  one  can  know  when  he  has  complied 
with  this  necessary  condition  of  salvation.  If  salva- 
tion were  simply  by  faith,  it  would  be  only  necessary 
to  know  that  one  had  faith,  to  be  assured  that  he  had 
come  within  reach  of  salvation.  But,  as  it  is  by 
strong  faith,  he  must  first  know  how  strong,  and  then 
measure  his  own  faith  to  determine  whether  it  be  of 
the  required  degree  of  strength. 

Must  the  convert's  faith,  then,  be  as  strong  as  that 
of  any  of  the  mighty-hearted  heroes  of  the  past? 
Must  it  be  as  strong  as  Paul's  or  Luther's?  If  so, 
only  a  very  few  can  ever  be  saved.  That  the  great 
multitude  of  Christians  in  the  time  of  Paul  had  a 
faith  less  strong  than  his,  must  be  admitted;  and  yet, 
they  were  regarded  as  justified.  Evidently  this  is  not 
the  measure.  But,  as  we  descend  in  the  scale,  we  en- 
counter a  great  peril — that  of  falling  below  the  neces- 
sary degree.  There  ought  to  be  some  clearly  defined 
limit. 

If 'we  would  ascertain  how  strong  faith  should  be  it 
is  necessary  for  us  to  consider  that  it  is  not  a  mere 
fanciful  or  arbitrary  condition,  but  a  means  to  an 
end — that  it  is  designed  to  accomplish  a  certain  object; 
and  if,  for  any  reason,  it  fails  to  do  this,  it  is  worth- 
less, and  is  to  be  counted  as  not  faith.  Faith  is  the 
force  behind  the  Christian  life,  behind  a  life  of  right- 
eousness. This  life  must  always  be  lived  in  the  face 
of  opposition.  It  is  alwa3^s  a  rowing  against  the 
stream.     It  must  make  head  against  the  mighty  sweep 

of  the  world's  worldliness.     It  will  always  be  opposed 

104 


BAPTISM   A   MEASURE   OF   THE   FAITH   OF   CONVERSION 

by  either  persecution  or  seductive  temptation.  The 
force  that  shall  plow  its  way  through  such  obstacles 
must  be  a  strong  one,  and  strong  enough  to  do  that 
thing^ — to  live  an  independent  life,  and  that  under 
perpetual  fire, — strong  enough  to  master,  and  not  be 
mastered.  This  requires  much  force  of  character — 
nay,  even  moral  heroiijm.  The  opposition  will  come, 
not  only  from  the  world  at  large,  but  from  friends — 
often  from  father,  mother,  sister,  brother,  wife,  chil- 
dren, and,  most  fearful  of  all,  from  the  passion-springs 
of  one's  own  heart.  To  live  against  all  this  is  to  be  a 
hero.  His  deeds  may  not  be  emblazoned  to  the  world, 
but  the  true  Christian  is  always  God's  hero.  Just  this 
much  faith  must  accomplish,  gr  be  a  failure.  True, 
the  Christian  does  not  struggle  alone;  but  the  help  he 
receives  from  above  does  not  come  in  the  shape  of 
overcoming  the  foe  for  him,  but  in  making  him 
stronger  to  resist  it;  so  it  is  his  faith  at  last  that  must 
do  the  work.  We  discover,  therefore,  that  faith  need 
not  be  the  strongest  ever  possessed  by  the  great  spir- 
itual heroes  of  the  past,  but  it  must  be  strong,  and 
just  so  strong,  or  it  cannot  be  saving  faith. 

§  3.     The  True  Measure  of  Faith. 

Having  seen  that  saving  faith  must  be  strong  faith, 
and  how  strong  it  must  be,  we  are  next  led  to  ask 
whether  there  be  any  msans  of  measuring  this  faith. 
There  is  just  as  much  need  of  a  measure  here  as  in 
mechanics,  or  in  determining  the  stature  of  a  recruit 
for  the  army.  Now,  the  great  strain,  and  the  call  for 
moral  heroism  in  living  the  Christian  life  before  the 
world,  lies  in  facing  the  world,  and  standing  in  opposi- 
tion to  it, — in  meeting  its  derision,  its  contumely,  its 
hatred, — in  cutting  one's  self  off  from  its  pleasures, 

and  in  breaking  completelv  with  the  old   life.     The 

105 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

strong  shock  of  all  these  world-  and  old-life  forces  is 
felt  in  profession.  It  is  there  that  the  convert  stands 
out  before  the  world's  fierce  gaze  and  sounds  the  note 
of  eternal  battle  with  it.  It  is  there  that  he  renounces 
forever  the  past,  and  commits  himself,  in  the  eyes  of 
all  men,  to  a  new  life.  It  is  there  that  in  one  con- 
centrated shock  the  clash  with  the  world-life  begins. 
This  act  gathers  into  itself  the  great  elements  of  the 
life-conflict,  and  is,  in  short,  the  undertaking  of  the 
battle.  It  is  a  great  representative  act,  standing  for 
all  that  is  to  follow,  and  subjecting  the  soul  to  the 
great  moral  strain  of  the  Christian  life. 

If,  on  its  positive  side,  it  is  the  most  suitable  meas- 
ure of  the  strength  of  faith,  it  is  equally  so  when 
negatively  considered.  The  Christian  life  must  be 
lived  before  the  world;  therefore  any  faith  which 
cannot  face  the  world,  cannot  live  that  life, — cannot 
do  faith's  work,  and  is  a  valueless  faith  for  the  pur- 
poses of  salvation.  The  great  representative  act  of 
profession  is  therefore  the  natural  and  most  fitting 
measure  of  the  convert's  faith*. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  profession  should  be  em- 
bodied in  some  strong,  expressive,  and  profoundly 
impressive  act.  Such  an  act  we  have  in  Christian 
baptism.  It  marks  a  severance  from  the  world  as 
complete  as  actual  burial,  and  a  rising,  afterward,  to 
another  life.  Now,  it  is  not  simply  by  divine  appoint- 
ment that  ijrofession  becomes  a  measure  of  faith,  for 
that  is  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case;  but  it  is  by 
divine  appointment  that  baptism,  so  fitly  adapted  to 
that  end,  is  made  the  great  act  of  profession ;  and  it  is 


*Profession  is  not  only  a  facing  of  the  world  and  breaking  with 
it,  but  the  decisive  breaking  with  the  old  life,  private  as  well  as 
public.  It  is  then  that  the  die  is  cast — the  solemn  commitment 
made. 

106 


BAPTISM  A  MEASURE   OF   THE   FAITH   OF   CONVERSION 

as  a  solemn  act  of  profession  that  baptism  becomes  a 
true  measure  of  the  strength  of  faith. 

§  4.     The  Application  of  the  Measure. 

If  a  person  believes  the  truth  regarding  Christ,  re- 
pents of  his  sins  and  desires  to  serve  him,  and  then 
goes  forth  with  alacrity  to  make  a  public  profession  of 
his  name,  it  is  evident  that  his  faith  has  been  meas- 
ured, and  been  found  adequate  to  undertaking  the 
Christian  life  before  the  world.  But  it  is  possible 
that  the  elements  of  faith  may  be  present  in  a  weaker 
degree  than  this.  The  truth  may  be  believed,  the 
heart  may  be  touched,  there  may  be  a  real  desire  to 
live  a  better  life,  and  to  unite  one's  self  to  Christ  and 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  his  salvation,  but  this  desire 
may  not  be  strong  enough  to  cause  the  person  to  give 
up  all — to  snap  all  ties  and  bury  all  joys  incompatible 
with  a  complete  and  public  surrender.  A  closet  faith 
need  not  be  heroic;  ix. professing  faith  must  be,  if  the 
full  meaning  of  profession  is  realized.  There  were 
many  examples  of  this  weaker  type  of  faith  in  Christ's 
time;  for  we  are  told  that  "even  of  the  rulers  many 
believed  on  him;  but  because  of  the  Pharisees  they 
did  not  confess  him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the 
synagogue;  for  they  loved  the  glory  of  men  more  than 
the  glory  of  God"  (John  xii.  42,  43).  There  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  this  faith  was  mere  intellectual 
assent,  and  that  it  did  not  involve  the  heart.  It  is 
designated  by  the  phrase  to  believe  on,  which  usually 
represents  true  and  saving  faith.  These  were  not  bad 
men  fighting  against  their  convictions,  but  weak  men 
hesitating  to  follow  their  leadings  into  obloquy  and 
persecution.  If  we  may  suppose  Nicodemus  to  have 
been  representative  of  this  class,  we  have  an  amiable 

and    truth-loving   character,     wlio    credited    Christ's 

107 


MORAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

claims,  and  was  in  sympathy  with  his  work — who  be- 
lieved in  him  and  desired  to  learn  of  him — in  secret! 
Here  was  a  faith  both  of  the  understanding  and  of  the 
heart,  but  it  was  weak,  unheroic.  Christ's  dealing 
with  him  is  very  instructive.  He  declined  to  have  any 
parley  with  him,  but  met  him  abruptly  with  these  de- 
cisive words:  "Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except 
a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (Jn.  iii.  5).  We  are 
safe  in  saying  that  "born  of  water"  refers  to  that 
great  act  of  profession  called  baptism*,  and  that 
Christ  informs  this  man  that  no  faith  which  has  not 
first  carried  one  to  a  complete  and  public  surrender 
will  be  accepted.  Even  though  Christ  had  been  only 
a  man,  he  must  have  seen  clearly  at  that  time  that  the 
very  existence  of  his  kingdom  was  imperiled  by  the 
prevalence  of  this  weak,  unheroic  faith;  and  he  then 
and  there  built  a  wall  against  it  strong  and  high,  and 
to  endure  for  all  time.  It  was  this :  The  faith  that  shall 
admit  one  to  the  Mngdom  of  God  7nust  accredit  itself  by 
'public  profession  before  it  will  be  accepted.  No  objec- 
tion is  made  against  this  faith  of  the  rulers,  except 
that  it  was  weak.  They  did  love  ''the  glory  of  God," 
but  not  so  much  as  "the  glory  of  men,"  and  hence 
they  stumbled  at  profession.  Christ  demands  a  strong 
faith,  and  therefore  a  measured  faith.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  measure  in  this  case  excluded  the  most  in- 
fluential class  of  those  who  believed  in  him.  They 
were  excluded  for  no  other  reason  than  non-pro- 
fession. 

If  baptism  is  a  measure  of  the  faith  of  conversion, 
at  what  time  should  it  be  applied?  This  is  not  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference.     A  measure  is  worthless  unless  it 

*See  p.  77. 

108 


BAPTISM   A    MEASURE    OF   THE    FAITH    OF    CONVERSION 

be  used;  and  if  it  be  not  used  until  after  that  has 
been  decided  which  it  was  designed  to  determine,  it 
can  be  of  no  service. 

When  a  farmer  sells  a  bushel  of  wheat  he  uses  a 
measure  to  determine  the  quantity.  He  must  first 
measure  the  wheat  to  know  that  it  is  a  bushel;  and 
then,  when  this  is  determined,  he  receives  his  pay  for 
a  bushel.  He  cannot  sell  it  for  a  bushel,  and  the 
buyer  is  not  willing  to  pay  him  for  a  bushel,  until  it  is 
measured.  Thus  the  measuring  becomes  a  condition 
in  the  transaction.  But  it  would  not,  therefore,  be 
true  to  say  that  the  farmer  receives  the  pay  for  the 
measure,  but  rather  for  the  loheat  which  is  measured. 
He  receives  pay  simply  for  the  wheat,  for  that  alone; 
but  he  does  not  receive  the  pay  until  the  wheat  is 
measured.  The  wheat  will  not  be  received  by  the  pur- 
chaser until  it  is  measured.  So  likewise,  if  there  may 
be  faith  of  various  degrees  of  strength,, and  if  it  be 
only  faith  of  a  certain  strength  that  can  be  accepted 
as  saving  faith,  the  act  of  measuring  the  faith  must 
enter  into  the  transaction,  and  a  man  cannot  count  on 
having  saving  faith  until  he  has  measured  it.  Never- 
theless, it  does  not  follow  that  he  is  saved  by  the 
measure,  but  rather  hy  the  faith.  With*  perfect  con- 
sistency, therefore,  baptism,  the  measuring  act,  might 
be  a  condition  of  salvation  in  a  system  of  salvation  by 
faith  alone.  This  would  be  true,  even  though  baptism 
possessed  no  other  uses  than  this.  There  is  no  reason 
why  those  who  advocate  justification  by  faith  alone 
should  hesitate  to  admit  that  baptism  is  an  antecedent 
to  the  granting  of  that  blessing  to  faith.  It  would 
not  be  adding  another  condition  to  faith,  but  simply 
determining  whether  the  candidate's  faith  fills  out  the 

required  measure.     That  the  faith  of  a  man  should  be 

109 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

measured  before  it  is  reckoned  for  righteousness,  is  a 
perfectly  natural  and  necessary  procedure,  growing 
out  of  the  fact  that  justification  is  not  by  faith  sim- 
ply, but  by  an  adequate  faith. 

110 


CHAPTER  II. 

BAPTISM  AS   A   RATIFYING   ACT. 

§i.     Nature  and   Uses  of  Ratification. 

Closely  related  to  this  matter  of  measurement 
stands  another  fact  of  great  importance  and  wide 
recognition.  We  saw  in  an  earlier  chapter  that  the 
requirement  in  our  courts  of  law  that  witnesses  shall 
testify  under  oath  tends  greatly  to  secure  truthful- 
ness; and  we  may  add  that  this  is  in  a  sense  the  case 
even  with  truthful  men.  The  fact  that  one  is  to 
speak  under  oath  causes  great  carefulness  to  make 
each  statement  strictly  accurate.  The  witness,  by  a 
painstaking  review  of  the  facts  of  memory,  seeks  to 
recall  them  fully  in  their  true  light;  by  reference  to 
memoranda  or  concurrent  events  he  seeks  to  correct 
any  lapses  of  memory,  and  to  refresh  its  hold  upon 
every  fact,  and  then  in  well-measured  and  carefully 
chosen  terms,  to  state  the  exact  truth.  All  this  pains- 
taking does  not  appertain  to  the  ordinary  statements 
of  even  truthful  men,  so  that  a  solemn  oath  may 
not  be  without  its  use  even  with  them.  It  secures, 
not  simply  truth-telling,  but  careful,  well-considered, 
strictly  accurate  truth-telling.  And  for  this  reason  in 
matters  of  such  importance  as  those  dealt  with  in  our 
courts  of  law,  it  is  the  statement  under  oath  that  the 
court  demands  and  which  alone  it  will  accept.  The 
same  statement  may  have  chanced  previously  to  be 
made  by  the  man  in  the  presence  of  judge  and  jury, 
but  this  will  not  be  accepted.  The  reason  of  this  is, 
that  the  statement  under  oath  is  regarded  as  the  more 

reliable.     The  court  demands  the  most  absolute  truth 

111 


MORAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

and   accuracy,    and   hence  takes   only  the  statement 
under  oath. 

There  are  many  acts  in  our  more  important  busi- 
ness transactions  that  partake  largely  of  the  same 
nature,  and  which  may  be  spoken  of  as  Ratifications.* 
A  very  common  error  in  regard  to  these  is  that  they 
are  mere  forms  without  any  essential  mental  element. 
This  is  strangely  incorrect;  for  they  contain  mental 
acts  of  the  most  decisive  importance.  When  a  man 
gives  a  promissory  note  to  another,  the  language  is 
in  the  present  tense,  '''1  promise  to  pay,"  not,  "I  have 
promised."  The  note  is  itself  a  promise,  and  it  is  the 
pr^omise  made  in  the  note  that  the  payee  relies  upon^ 
and  not  any  promise  previously  made.  It  is  in  view 
of  this  that  he  delivers  the  goods  into  the  possession 
of  the  other  party.  A  man  signs  and  duly  acknowl- 
edges the  deed  of  a  piece  of  real  estate.  It  is  not 
drawn  in  the  past  tense,  and  does  not  claim  to  make 
good  a  former  transference  of  possession,  but  de- 
clares that  the  parties  giving  the  deed,  "c?o  grant, 
bargain,  sell,  and  convey,'^  the  property  to  the  buyer. 
There  is  a  mental  act  of  conveyance  of  possession  to 
the  other  in  the  giving  of  the  deed;  and  this  mental 
act  is  of  great  and  decisive  importance,  as  will  be 
seen  by  considering  that  no  deed  can  be  made  by  an 
insane  person,  though  he  may  be  entirely  capable  of 
going  through  the  form  of  making  and  acknowledg- 
ing it.  A  preliminary  understanding  may  have  been 
fully  reached  and  all  done  except  the  giving  of  the 
deed;  but  if  the  seller  be  taken  suddenly  insane, 
though  still  able  to  go  through  the  form  of  deeding. 


*I  use  the  word  ratification  in  the  broad  sense  of  all  that 
establishes  or  gives  security  in  business  transactions  as  well  as 
treaties. 

112 


BAPTISM   AS    A    RATIFYING    ACT 

the  transfer  cannot  be  made.  And  this  will  be  solely 
for  the  reason  that  the  seller  is  not  capable  of  respon- 
sibly taking  the  mental  step  of  conveying  the  prop- 
erty. There  is  a  mental  act  of  conveying  possession 
in  giving  a  deed,  and  thrs  mental  act — not  that  involved 
in  any  preceding  agreement — is  the  one  ivhich  the  buyer 
accepts  and  relies  upon.  The  same  is  true  of  giving 
a  note.  A  note  cannot  be  made  by  an  insane  person, 
though  he  may  be  perfectly  competent  to  write  and 
sign  correctly,  because  he  is  not  capable  of  making  a 
responsible  promise. 

It  is  true  that  a  part  of  the  design  of  such  docu- 
ments is  to  bind  others  into  whose  hands  the  transac- 
tion of  business  may  pass;  but  they  are  largely  made 
use  of  when  the  expectation  is  that  the  person  shall 
fulfill  his  own  pledge;  and  it  is  only  of  such  cases 
that  I  am  speaking. 

If  it  be  claimed  that  the  only  aim  of  such  documents 
is  to  secure  fulfil hnent  through  the  agency  of  the  law 
of  pledges  which  the  person  may  refuse  or  neglect  to 
fulfill  himself,  it  must  be  answered  that  this  is  not 
correct.  This,  it  is  true,  is  an  indirect  and  remote 
consideration;  but  few  such  transactions  would  ever 
be  entered  into  if  it  were  felt  that  they  would  end  in 
a  lawsuit.  The  primary  and  chief  purpose  of  such 
documents  is,  that  they  secure  a  more  certain  voluntary 
fulfillment  of  the  covenanter's  pledge.  The  great  object 
of  such  securities  is  to  insure  the  human  will  against 
dishonesty,  against  weakness,  against  neglect  and 
shiftlessness,  and  against  change.  They  do  this  in 
various  ways — usually  by  exposing  the  covenanter  to 
some  penalty,  loss,  or  inconvenience,  and  by  render- 
ing any  attempt  at  non-fulfillment  futile. 

A  dishonest  man   may  make  an   oral  bargain   with 
8  113 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  intention  of  getting  propert}-  into  his  possession, 
or  gaining  some  advantage,  without  due  return;  but  if 
required  to  give  security  such  as  will  either  necessi- 
tate fulfillment  of  his  agreement  or  expose  him  to 
even  greater  loss  or  inconvenience  than  such  fulfill- 
ment would  involve,  he  will  at  once  refuse.  If, 
however,  he  shall  return  later  and  offer  to  give 
the  required  security,  we  shall  know  that  some- 
thing important  has  happened — the  dishonest  pur- 
pose has  given  place  to  an  honest  one;  and  the 
mental  act  which  takes  place  in  the  ratification  will 
be  sincere  and  genuine..  Ratification  secures  a  sincere 
pledge  from  an  insincere  man;  and  the  other  party 
now  has  good  reason  to  believe  that  he  will  fulfill  hife 
obligation.  The  act  of  will  contained  in  the  ratifica- 
tion is  now  trusted. 

But  dishonesty  of  purpose  is  not  the  only  cause  of 
non-fulfillment  of  obligations,  and  those  steps  which 
have  for  their  object  the  insurance  of  the  human  will 
are  not  confined  to  such  cases.  An  honest  young 
man  proposes  to  buy  a  farm.  The  preliminaries 
regarding  price,  times  of  payments,  etc.,  are  all 
arranged,  when  the  seller  informs  him  that  he  must 
have  a  mortgage.  The  young  man  does  not  understand 
this,  and  is  told  that  in  case  every  payment  is  made 
on  time,  the  mortgage  will  have  no  effect  of  any  kind 
upon  the  transaction;  but  in  case  he  should  fail  to 
make  his  payments  as  stipulated,  the  mortgage  could 
be  foreclosed,  and  he  would  lose  both  the  farm  and  all 
he  had  previously  paid.  The  young  man  regards  this 
as  a  very  serious  matter,  and  asks  time  to  think  it  over. 
He  had  been  ready  to  close  the  bargain  with  the  sin- 
cere   intention    of  fulfilling   its   every  condition,   but 

now  he  hesitates  and  desires  time  to  consider.     What 

114 


BAPTISM   AS    A   RATIFYING   ACT 

will  he  consider?  The  question  of  his  ability  to  fulfill 
his  obligations.  He  asks  himself  what  would  be  done 
if  crops  should  fail,  if  prices  should  fall,  if  stock 
should  die,  if  he  should  be  ill.  He  faces  each  con- 
tingency and  looks  at  it  long  and  searchingly.  As  he 
does  so,  his  undertaking  appears  much  more  serious 
and  difficult  than  he  at  first  supposed;  and  the  ques- 
tion often  arises,  Shall  I  not  give  it  up?  He  sees  that 
success  may  require  not  only  hard  work,  but  severe 
seif-denials  through  many  years,  and  heroic  energy 
such  as  he  has  never  put  forth.  He  ponders  and 
weighs  long  and  carefully,  and  at  last  says,  I  will.  He 
returns,  and  signs  the  mortgage  which  bargains  to  pay 
for  the  farm  under  these  serious  conditions.  What 
has  happened?  This  young  man  was  ready  to  make 
the  bargain  before  with  an  honest  purpose;  but  he  was 
not  ready  to  make  it  under  these  conditions.  A  tveak, 
ill-co)isidered  purpose  has  been  changed  to  a  strong, 
heroic  purpose,  A  purpose  which  was  inadequate  for 
so  serious  an  undertaking  has  been  changed  into  one 
which  is  adequate.  The  young  man  may  never  have 
put  forth  a  strong  act  of  will  before.  This  required 
security  has  drawn  a  heroic  purpose  from  an  unheroic 
youth.  The  act  of  will  put  forth  in  giving  this  se- 
curity is  the  one  which  the  law  accepts  and  which  the 
seller  accepts — and  it  should  be  so,  for  it  is  worth 
vastly  more  than  the  other. 

But  this  counting  the  cost  and  reaching  a  well- 
considered,  heroic  purpose  is  not  the  only  effect  that 
this  security  is  to  have  on  the  young  man's  will.  It 
will  also  jsafeguard  it  against  change.  The  young  man 
is  honest,  but  honesty  is  sometimes  a  matter  of 
strength  of  character.  Under  stress  of  great  difficul- 
ties even   an  honest  desire  to   fulfill   one's  obligations 

115 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

may  give  way.  But  even  though  the  time  shall  never 
come  when  the  young  man  will  cease  to  intend  to  fulfill 
his  obligations,  it  is  quite  possible  that  there  may  be  a 
diminution  of  his  energy.  Will-force  is  very  fluctu- 
ating. We  are  sometimes  much  stronger  than  at 
others.  The  tendencies  to  neglect  and  ease-taking  or 
pleasure-seeking  furnish  a  well-nigh  universal  tempta- 
tion to  relax  effort.  The  seller  of  the  farm  must  be 
protected  against  this  danger.  The  security  which  the 
young  man  gives  will  do  this;  for  the  same  jeopardy 
which  raised  his  purpose  up  to  the  heroic  point  still 
exists  and  tends  to  hold  it  there.  In  giving  the  mort- 
gage the  young  man  has  burned  the  bridge  behind 
him,  and  he  cannot  retreat  without  disaster.  There 
may  be  many  times,  through  the  coming  years  of  strug- 
gle, when  he  will  be  tempted  to  give  up  the  effort,  but 
the  thought  of  losing  all  holds  him  to  his  purpose,  and 
at  last,  scarred  by  toil  and  hardship,  he  wins  the 
battle.  He  has  won  two  prizes — a  home,  and  mighty- 
hearted  manhood;  and  it  has  all  come  of  his  giving 
security.  The  security  had  first  the  eifect  to  raise  his 
will  to  heroic  strength;  and  this  well-considered, 
strong  purpose  was,  from  its  very  nature,  in  the  least 
degree  subject  to  remission,  while  it  received  continual 
re-enforcement  through  the  continued  jeopardy  which 
the  security  imposed.  The  moral  effect  of  security  is, 
therefore,  (1)  to  render  purpose  honest,  (2)  to  cause 
a  careful  counting  of  the  cost,  (3)  to  raise  purpose  to 
the  adequate  degree  of  strength,  and  (4)  to  safeguard 
it  from  change. 

'  Many  of  the  transactions  of  ordinary  business  life 
are  so  small,  and  involve  so  little  loss  in  case  of  non- 
fulfillment, that  they  are  permitted    to  pass  without 

security;  but  in  all  more  important  covenants  and  con- 

116 


BAPTISM  AS   A  RATIFYING   ACT 

tracts  means  are  resorted  to  to  render  fulfillment  more 
certain  through  an  insurance  of  the  human  will.  And 
it  is  the  act  of  will  which  takes  place  in  giving  these 
securities  that  both  the  law  and  the  other  contracting 
party  accept  and  rely  upon.  This  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  insanity  renders  all  such  acts  nugatory. 

From  the  fact  that  this  mental  act  is  the  one  that  is 
trusted,  it  follows  that  the  property  stipulated  in  the 
contract  is  not  given  into  possession  until  after  this 
trusted  mental  act  takes  place.  If  a  note  for  money 
is  being  given,  the  money  is  not  paid  over  until  the 
note  is  duly  signed  and  delivered.  There  is  a  seeming 
exception  to  this  in  cases  where  a  small  part  of  the 
sum  stipulated  is  advanced  for  the  purpose  of  binding 
a  bargain  or  some  other  object.  But  this  forms  really 
no  exception;  for  the  amount  thus  advanced  is  small, 
while  the  object  of  security  is  to  protect  large  inter- 
ests. Such  prepayments  belong  to  the  category  of 
such  small  transactions  as  require  no  security. 

It  is  important  to  note  also  that  if  the  delivery  of 
the  possessions  were  to  take  place  before  the  ratifying 
act,  its  value  would  well-nigh,  if  not  wholly,  be  de- 
stroyed. '  The  great  reason,  in  cases  where  the  promis- 
ing party  is  expected  to  e^cute  his  own  pledge,  why 
security  is  required,  is  that  so  great  a  stake  cannot  be 
risked  on  his  unsupported  promise.  But  this  is  just 
what  would  be  done  if  the  property  were  transferred 
to  him  before  security  is  given.  If  parties  were  to 
take  each  other  as  husband  and  wife  before  the  mar- 
riage act,  it  would  render  that  act  worthless  ^nd  result 
in  nothing  short  of  the  overthrow  of  society.  To 
transfer   possession  before  ratification  is  to  sacrifice 

the  very  object  for  which  ratification  is  required. 

117 


MOKAL   AND   SPIKITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

§  2.  An  Act  of  the  Nature  of  Ratification  is  Needed 
171  the  Covenant  of  the  Soid  with  God. 

The  bearing  of  all  this  on  the  divine-human  cove- 
nant is  very  important.  It  is  universally  recognized 
that  the  infirmities  of  the  human  will  are  too  great  to 
admit  of  its  being  trusted  in  the  more  important  mat- 
ters of  business,  unless  the  contracting  act  of  will  he 
caused  to  tahe  place  under  conditions  that  will  render  it 
not  only  honesty  hut  strong,  ivell-considered,  and  perma- 
nent. Now,  while  it  is  not  probable  that  any  one  will 
ever  seek  to  enter  into  covenant  with  God  with  fraudu- 
lent designs,  and  by  sharp  practice  obtain  the  remission 
of  sins,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  at  last  heaven 
itself,  it  is  possible  tliat  all  the  other  forms  of  incom- 
petency may  characterize  the  act  of  will  by  which  the 
soul  may  surrender  itself  to  God  and  devote  itself  to 
his  service.  The  convert  may  not  thoroughly  count  the 
cost,  the  strength  of  his  purpose  may  be  insufficient,  and 
that  purpose  may  be  subject  to  change.  The  question 
then  arises.  Shall  all  more  important  business  transac- 
tions take  place  only  on  the  basis  of  an  insured  will, 
while  the  greatest  and  most  weighty  covenant  in  all 
the  soul's  history  shall  be  abandoned  to  the  uncertain- 
ties of  human  weakness  aod  shiftlessness?  While  the 
business  world  must  have  a  man's  best  and  mightiest 
purpose,  and  takes  measures  to  secure  it,  shall  the 
greatest  transaction  of  all  rest  on  an  inferior  purpose, 
and  no  measures  be  taken  to  secure  the  best?  If  the 
covenanting  act  of  the  human  will  with  God  is  to  be 
the  best  of  which  the  convert  is  capable,  it  must  take 
place  under  conditions  which  will  render  it  strong  and 
well-considered,  and  secure  as  much  as  possible  its 
permanency.     Are  there  any  conditions  in  the  religious 

sphere  which  correspond,  in  their  effect  upon  the  will, 

118 


BAPTISM   AS   A   RATIFYING   ACT 

with   security   or  ratification  in   the    secular   world? 
There  are  principal!}^  two : 

One  of  these  is  Publicity — the  embodiment  of  the 
mental  act  of  surrender  to  Christ  and  devotement  to 
his  service  in  an  appointed  act  of  profession.  It  is 
publicity  that  gives  security  to  nearly  all  forms  of  rati- 
fication. A  deed  must  be  recorded  in  the  official 
records  to  make  it  valid.  It  is  a  published  bargain.  A 
promissory  note  drives  all  its  validity  from  publicity. 
The  law  takes  cognizance  of  an  oral  contract  and  en- 
forces it  whenever  it  can  be  proved,  but  the  difficulty 
is  to  prove  it.  The  written  note  in  the  hands  of  the 
payee  can  be  shown  to  whomsoever  he  will,  and  to  the 
very  authorities  that  will  enforce  its  collection.  It  is 
potentially  a  published  bargain,  and  herein  lies  its 
great  value  as  security.  In  the  marriage  ceremony  the 
mental  act  of  taking  each  other  as  husband  and  wife, 
by  the  parties,  is  made  to  take  place  publicly;  and  be- 
tween the  act  so  taking  place  and  the  same  act 
allowed  to  take  place  privately  would  lie  all  the  differ- 
ence between  social  well-being  and  a  profound  moral 
disaster  to  society.  This  mental  act  taking  place  in  a 
duly  appointed  form  of  public  profession  is  worth 
vastly  more  than  the  same  act  without  such  protecting 
conditions.  The  publicity  causes  caution  in  taking  the 
step,  with  a  more  complete  and  well-considered  com- 
mitment to  lifelong  union,  and  cuts  off  the  possibility 
of  retreat  without  disgrace.  For  these  reasons  moral 
society,  in  view  of  the  sacred  interests  involved,  de- 
mands that  no  such  giving  and  taking  shall  be  recog- 
nized except  when  embodied  in  a  public  act  of  profes- 
sion. Precisely  the  same  principles  are  involved  in  a 
public  religious  profession.  It  puts  purpose  to  a  cer- 
tain strain.     It  is  crossing  a  line  forever  in  the  sight  of 

119 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

all  men.  It  is  a  great  step  profoundly  changing  the 
subject's  relation  to  his  fellowmen.  It  will  not  be 
taken  hastily  or  without  counting  the  cost,  nor  without 
a  struggle.  From  it  there  can  be  no  retreat  without 
disgrace.  The  act  of  will  involved  in  such  a  step  is 
strong  enough  to  face  the  world.  A  will  less  strong 
will  be  turned  back  until  it  gains  the  necessary 
strength;  and  then  it  will  be  a  mighty-hearted  act  of 
the  soul.  Those  who  have  baptized  many  know  what 
this  means  to  them.  It  is  an  awful  moment.  It  is 
the  best  and  mightiest  act  of  willing  of  which  the  soul 
is  capable.  Afterward,  the  public  profession  tends  to 
insure  this  commitment  against  change. 

A  tall,  strong  spirit,  a  foremost  leader  with  voice 
and  pen  among  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  and  one  of  the 
purest  and  most  devout  of  men,  who  has  now  passed 
to  his  reward,  said  before  a  public  audience,  some 
years  before  his  death,  that  there  had  been  times  of 
darkness  and  discouragement  in  his  religious  life  when 
he  believed  he  would  have  given  up  all  and  been  lost, 
but  for  the  fact  that  he  had  solemnly  professed  Christ 
before  the  world.  When  the  heart  sank,  honor  had 
come  to  the  rescue  until  the  darkness  had  passed  and 
the  heavens  grew  bright  again.  He  had  burned  the 
bridge  behind  him;  there  was  no  retreat  except  across 
his  prostrate  honor.  The  mental  act  by  which  he  had 
given  himself  to  Christ  in  his  baptisnl,  was  insured. 
It  was  his  best  and  mightiest  at  the  time,  and  it  was 
safe-guarded  against  change. 

But  there  is  another  condition  that  may  add  value 
to  that  mental  act  by  which  we  enter  into  covenant 
with  God.  If  the  act  of  profession  be  one  of  pro- 
found sacredness   and   impressiveness,  it   will  cause 

great  thoughtfulness  and  a  deepened  sense  of  obliga- 

120 


BAPTISM  AS  A  RATIFYING  ACT 

tion  when  taking  it;  it  will  help  the  soul  to  its  holiest 
surrender.  Were  the  mental  act  of  surrender  to 
Christ  embodied  simply  in  some  form  of  oral  profes- 
sion— confession  with  the  mouth — it  would  not  be  the 
best  of  which  the  soul  is  capable.  It  would  lack  the 
infinite  pathos  of  burial  with  Christ  and  the  pro- 
founder  sense  of  death  to  sin  and  resurrection  to 
righteousness.  Christian  baptism  is  vastly  more  thrill- 
ing and  exalting  than  verbal  confession,  and  the 
soul  should  be  at  its  best  when  passing  into  Christ. 
There  will  be  higher,  holier  surrender  under  such 
conditions.  It  will  be  the  soul's  best.  Now,  in  view 
of  human  weakness,  thoughtlessness  and  changeable- 
ness, — of  the  great  unreliability  of  the  human  will, — 
and  in  consideration  of  the  vast  interests  at  stake, 
should  not  Christ  demand  the  soul's  best  before  be- 
stowing upon  it  all  the  blessings  of  redemption  and 
counting  it  saved?  In  all  ages  and  climes  the  unre- 
liability of  the  human  will  has  been  recognized  as 
rendering  it  unfit  to  be  trusted  in  important  covenants 
and  business  transactions  without  subjecting  it  to  cer- 
tain bracing  influences;  and  only  those  acts  of  will 
which  take  place  under  such  conditions  are  trusted  in 
important  matters.  Is  what  is  not  good  euough  for 
business  good  enough  for  the  soul's  eternal  welfare? 
The  placing  of  remission  of  sins  before  baptism  is 
thought  to  be  in  the  interest  of  spirituality;  it  is  in 
the  interest  of  spiritual  shiftlessness  and  self-decep- 
tion. It  admits  to  salvation  on  a  half  purpose.  It 
offers  heaven's  best,  and  takes  man's  poorest.  In  all 
important  business  the  will  is  insured;  in  the  cove- 
nant with  God  it  should  be  insured— made  the  best 
and  safest   possible.      Baptism  for  remission  of  sins 

121 


MOEAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

means  man's  highest,  holiest  surrender  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins. 

In  view  of  this  principle,  what  should  be  done  with 
the  penitent  who,  on  his  knees  in  his  closet,  shall  sur- 
render himself  to  Christ?  Doubtless  such  an  act 
should  have  some  effect  on  the  divine  attitude  toward 
him,  and  would  be  accepted  as  the  sweet  incense  of  a 
penitent  heart;  but  the  conditions  are  not  such  as  to 
render  this  the  strongest  and  holiest  surrender  of 
which  the  soul  is  capable,  and  the  issues  are  so  great 
as  to  demand  the  best.  According  to  a  principle  rec- 
ognized and  acted  upon  by  the  entire  human  race, 
through  all  time,  the  bestowment  of  the  great  bless- 
ings of  redemption  should  await  the  mighty-hearted, 
well-buttressed  and  safe-guarded  surrender  which 
takes  place  in  a  solemn  act  of  profession.  Baptism 
is  such  an  act,  and  therefore  the  true  point  of  ac- 
cepted surrender.  It  should  be,  as  the  Scriptures 
make  it,  the  covenanting  act  between  the  soul  and  its 
God. 

This  statement  of  the  situation,  however,  may  not 
be  quite  true  to  the  facts.  If  baptism  be  the  point  of 
acceptable  surrender,  the  tendency  will  be  to  make  it 
the  point  of  primary  surrender,  and  to  hasten  the  act 
to  the  sours  need  for  that  purpose.  When  a  man 
and  woman  desire  to  take  each  other  as  husband  and 
wife,  they  would  do  so  the  moment  the  desire  arises, 
if  such  a  step  could  be  morally  and  legally  taken  in 
private.  But  as  this  cannot  be,  they  hasten  the 
marriage  act  as  much  as  possible  to  suit  their  con- 
venience, and  then  both  mentally  and  formally  take 
each  other  as  husband  and  wife  in  that  act.  The 
mental  act  which  takes  place  in  marriage  has  never 

taken  place  before.     The  most  that  the  parties  have 

122 


BAPTISM   AS   A   RATIFYING    ACT 

ever  done  was  to  promise  that  they  would  take  this 
step.  To  claim  that  the  mental  step  taken  in  mar- 
riage has  previously  taken  place  in  the  engagement,  is 
to  speak  very  loosely,  and  confound  promise  with  ful- 
fillment. The  human  mind  is  disinclined  to  attempt 
what  is  impossible.  A  mother  may  be  hourly  expect- 
ing the  return  of  a  long-absent  child,  whom  she  longs 
to  embrace,  but  she  will  not,  therefore,  rush  to  the 
door  before  the  child  arrives,  and  hug  vacancy.  Her 
caress,  both  mental  and  physical,  will  await  the 
child's  appearance.  So  of  surrender  to,  and  entrance 
into  union  with,  Christ.  It  will  not  be  likely  to  take 
place  where  Christ  has  not  promised  to  meet  the 
soul  in  acceptance,  but  will  hasten  to  make  that 
strong-hearted,  well-fortified  surrender  which  he  has 
appointed  to  take  place  in  baptism.  If,  however,  the 
heart  should  overflow  and  cast  itself  at  the  feet  of 
Christ  before  that  time,  it  should  know  that  its  emo- 
tion and  moral  force  have  not  been  measured,  and 
that  the  mental  act  of  commitment  on  which  the 
whole  future  life  is  to  rest,  and  in  view  of  which  the 
unspeakable  blessings  of  salvation  are  to  be  granted, 
should  be  the  best  considered,  strongest,  holiest  and 
best  protected  act  of  the  entire  life;  and  it  should, 
with  much  carefulness,  with  fear  and  trembling,  with 
high  and  holy  resolve,  with  yearning  affection,  pass 
into  union  with  Christ  under  those  conditions  which 
will  both  measure  the  spiritual  act  and  render  it 
strongest.  Baptism  is  by  its  nature  the  spirit's  pro- 
foundest  and  strongest  commitment  to  Christ.  The 
great  surrender  should  be  a  condition   of  the  great 

salvation. 

123 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHY   BAPTISM   SHOULD    BE    AN  ANTECEDENT  CONDITION 
OF   SALVATION. 

It  has  doubtless  occurred  to  the  thoughtful  reader, 
ere  this,  to  ask  one  question.  A  moment's  reflection 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  at  least  two  of  the  objects  of 
ratification,  as  herein  set  forth,  are  accomplished  be- 
fore the  act  itself  takes  place.  It  is  the  requirement 
of  a  public  profession  of  Christ  which  causes  (a) 
the  careful  counting  of  the  cost,  and  (b)  the  strength- 
ening of  the  purpose  to  take  that  step ;  and  these  things 
are  accomplished,  not  in  the  act  of  profession,  but 
before  it.  This  is  a  fact  of  some  importance,  and  not 
to  be  overlooked  in  an  investigation  like  this.  If  the 
requirement  of  a  complete  and  public  surrender  of 
the  world-life  causes  a  struggle  in  reaching  the  deter- 
mination to  take  the  step,  and  if  through  this  strug- 
gle the  weaker  faith  reaches  the  stage  of  heroic 
strength  and  efficiency,  why  does  not  the  mere  fact  of 
reaching  such  a  purpose  adequately  measure  the  faith? 
And  if  the  formation  of  such  a  purpose  measure  the 
faith,  determining  it  to  be  of  the  requisite  strength, 
why  not  count  it  for  righteousness  at  that  point? 
Why  not,  therefore,  decide  that,  as  soon  as  faith  rises 
in  the  heart  and  reaches  the  point  of  resolving  to  face 
the  world  in  an  act  of  profession,  renouncing  all,  the 
sinner  shall  be  accepted  and  accounted  saved?  It 
might  be  so  if  we  could  decide  affirmatively  one  ques- 
tion: Does  the  resolution  to  take  a  step  always  in- 
volve the  same  itiental  force  as  the  taking  of  the  step 

itself?     Does  it  subject  the  will  to  the  same  strain? 

124 


,     BAPTISM   AN   ANTECEDENT    CONDITION    OF    SALVATION 

If  it  always  does,  it  forms  a  reliable  measure  of  the 
mental  force  required  for  the  act.  Does  it?  It 
must  be  confessed  that  in  many  cases  such  is  the  case; 
while,  in  many  others,  it  is  very  far  from  being  so; 
and  these  two  classes  of  cases  are  differentiated  by  a 
very  important  principle. 

§  /.  The  Degree  of  Power  which  we  Possess  in  Any 
Direction  is  not  a  Matter  of  Consciousness,  hut  of 
Experimental  Discovery. 

A  laboring  man  engages  to  work  a  month  for  a  cer- 
tain contractor.  He  is  accustomed  to  the  kind  of 
work  which  he  will  be  required  to  do,  and  knows  just 
how  much  strength  it  will  demand,  and  that  he  pos- 
sesses that  strength.  He  knows,  also,  how  much  co- 
native  force  and  resolution  are  necessary  for  the  exe- 
cution of  his  task,  since  he  has  done  such  work  many 
times  before.  After  due  deliberation,  he  decides  pos- 
itively that  he  will  perform  the  work.  Just  such  de- 
cisions have  carried  him  through  many  a  similar  un- 
dertaking, and  he  has  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing 
that  his  present  resolution  is  entirely  equal  to  the  task. 
Physical  strength,  skill,  and  resolution  are  all  suffi- 
cient; and  he  knows  this.  He  knows  both  the  work 
and  himself  by  actual  experience;  and,  if  he  goes 
about  it  immediately,  there  is  little  danger  of  failure, 
either  in  resolution  or  power.  But  let  us  suppose  that 
a  very  di:fferent  proposition  is  presented  to  him.  His 
country  is  attacked  by  a  foe,  and  he  is  asked  to  go  to 
her  defense.  He  enters  the  army  as  a  raw  recruit. 
He  intends  to  fight  bravely.  Will  he  do  so?  No  one 
knows;  he  himself  does  not  know.  When  he  meets 
the  enemy,  he  may  take  fright  and  flee  like  a  coward. 
If  he  is  very  sure  of  himself,  and  boasts  much  of  his 

valor,  we  are  led  to  suspect  it;  if  he  is  quiet,  with  a 

125 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

humble  estimate  of  his  courage,  we  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised to  find  him  the  hero  of  the  hour.  Many  a  brag- 
gart is  a  coward,  and  many  a  quiet,  unassuming  man 
is  a  hero  in  a  crisis.  The  self-estimation  evidently  can 
not  guide  us  here.  Why  not?  The  amount  offorce^  in 
any  direction,  which  a  man  possesses  is  not  a  matter'  of 
consciousness f  b  ut  of  experimental  discovery.  The  boy 
cannot  tell  how  far  he  can  leap  until  he  tries  it;  the 
man  cannot  tell  how  much  he  can  lift  till  he  tries  it. 
In  perpetual  darkness,  we  should  never  discover  that 
we  had  the  sense  of  sight;  nor,  in  absolute  silence, 
the  sense  of  hearing. 

In  1861,  a  certain  tanner  lived  at  Galena,  III.  The 
war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out.  He  joined  the  fight- 
ing hosts.  He  rose  higher,  higher,  higher.  Then  the 
eye  of  the  nation  was  upon  him.  At  last,  the  great 
army  of  the  Union  was  given  into  his  hands.  He  con- 
quered— after  all  others  had  failed.  He  carved  his 
name  high  as  the  greatest  general  of  his  time.  But 
the  world  did  not  know  this  in  1861 ;  and  he  did  not 
know  it,  for  he  was  a  humble  man — humble  as  are  the 
great.  Had  the  war  not  occurred.  Grant  the  tanner 
would  never  have  known  Grant  the  general.  He 
knew,  in  1861,  that  he  had  some  courage,  some  mental 
ability,  sOme  judgment,  some  skill;  but  he  did  not 
know  that  these  mental  qualities  towered  so  high  in 
his  character  as  to  rank  him  with  the  greatest  generals 
of  the  world;  and  he  could  never  know  this  until  he 
put  them  to  the  test. 

Every  young  man's  life  is  a  progress  of  experimental 
self-discovery.  The  occupations  which  men  choose 
usually  reflect  their  best  judgment  of  themselves;  and 
what  a  commentary  this,  on  the  principle  we  are  con- 
sidering!    Benjamin  Franklin  chooses  the  trade  of  a 

126 


BAPTISM  AN  ANTECEDENT   CONDITION    OP    SALVATION 

journeyman  printer.  Galileo  chose  the  profession  of 
medicine,  and  it  was  not  until  afterward,  while  en- 
gaged in  some  art  studies  requiring  a  knowledge  of 
geometry,  that  he  discovered  himself.  Dwight  L. 
Moody  felt  that  possibly  he  might  succeed  as  a  shoe- 
clerk;  and  as  little  dreamed  that  he  was  the  greatest 
evangelist  of  the  age,  as  that  he  was  the  angel  Gab^^l. 
Are  not  the  galleries  of  biography  full  of  such  cases? 
Wordsworth  believed  that  most  of  the  best  poets  are 
never  discovered,  and  wrote: 

"Nor  having  e'er,  as  life  advanced,  been  led 
By  circumstance  to  take  unto  the  height 
The  measure  of  themselves,  these  favored  beings, 
All  but  a  scattered  few,  live  out  their  time, 
Husbanding  that  which  they  possess  within, 
And  go  to  the  grave  unthought  of.     Strongest  minds 
Are  often  those  of  whom  the  noisy  world 
Hears  least." 

On  the  other  hand,  we  know  but  too  well  that  many 
of  those  who  attempt  the  muse  have  mistaken  their 
powers.  In  seeking  the  less  ambitious  occupations, 
also,-  overestimation  is  probably  quite  as  common  as 
underestimation.  These  cases  are  not  likely  to  find 
their  way  into  history,  but  the  business  and  profes- 
sional world  is  strewn  with  such  failures.  No  such 
misjudgments,  either  way,  need  ever  occur,  if  the 
amount  of  a  man's  ability  in  any  direction  were  a 
matter  of  consciousness.  In  those  respects  in  which 
a  man  has  tried  himself,  he  knows  his  power,  and  in 
no  other.  The  laborer  who  engaged  to  do  a  month's 
work  knew  the  measure  of  his  force,  both  physical 
and  mental,  in  that  direction;  and  his  resohition  to 
perform  it  was  a  sufficient  warrant  of  its  fulfillment, 

because  he   had  already  had  simihir  experience.     But 

127 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

when  a  youth  determines  to  achieve  the  work  of  a 
great  statesman,  he  may  feel  very  sure  that  he  will 
accomplish  it,  but  we  know  that  most  such  resolutions 
are  ill-founded.  It  requires  vastly  more  ability,  even 
in  the  matter  of  wilU  to  do  the  high  work  of  a  states- 
man than  to  resolve  to  do  it.  It  requires  more  valor 
to  face  an  enemy  in  battle  than  to  resolve  to  do  so.  It 
is  a  law  of  the  human  mind,  that  the  measure  of  its. 
force,  in  any  direction,  is  a  matter  of  experimental 
discovery,  and  cannot  be  determined  by  introspection. 
So  far  as  we  have  been  put  to  the  test,  we  know  our 
power,  but  no  further. 

§  2.     The  New-Born  Faith  of  the   Convert  is  Sub- 
ject to  this  Law. 

The  convert's  faith  is  a  new  and  untried  force  in  his 
life.  It  has  never  been  there  before,  and  he  has  no 
experience  regarding  its  power.  He  knows  that  he 
believes  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  that  his  affections  go 
out  to  him,  that  he  has  the  spirit  of  consecration  to 
his  service.  He  may  enter  his  closet,  and  fall  upon 
his  knees  in  devout  prayer  and  surrender  to  him.  So 
far  he  knows  his  faith;  he  knows,  at  least,  that  it  is 
beautiful  sentiment.  But  is  it  more?  Is  it  a  strong 
force?  He  may  think  so,  but  he  cannot  know.  How 
strong  must  it  be?  The  strongest  force  in  his  life,  and 
capable  of  controlling  and  subduing  every  other.  It 
must  be  strong  enough  to  snap  all  opposing  earthly 
ties  and  bear  him  forth  upon  a  life  of  moral  heroism, 
or  founder  at  the  very  start.  It  must  be  the  motive 
force  behind  a  new  life  of  trial  and  great  difficulty. 
Is  it  meet  for  this?  If  not,  it  cannot  do  faith's  work 
in  saving  the  soul — cannot  be  saving  faith.  It  con- 
tains a  resolution  to  do  all  this.     It  is  the  stronger  for 

128 


BAPTISM   AN   ANTECEDENT    CONDITION   OF   SALVATION 

this,  bat  does  this  resolution  adequately  measure  its 
strength? 

On  the  night  of  his  betrayal,  in  the  quiet  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples: 

*'All  ye  shall  be  offended  in  me  this  night;  for  it  is 
written,  I  will  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of 
the  flock  shall  be  scattered  abroad.  But  after  I  am 
raised  up,  I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee.  But  Peter 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  If  all  men  shall  I)e 
offended  in  thee,  I  will  never  be  offended.  Jesus  said 
unto  him.  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  night,  be- 
fore the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.  Peter 
saith  unto  him.  Even  if  I  must  die  with  thee,  yet  will 
I  not  deny  thee.  Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples" 
(Mt.  xxvi.  31-35).  A  few  hours  after,  they  had  all 
forsaken  him,  and  Peter,  with  curses  and  oaths  on 
his  lips,  had  denied  him  thrice.  Can  anyone  question 
the  sincerity  of  these  disciples  when  making  this 
pledge?  Had  they  not  also  most  solemnly  and  im- 
pressively been  put  on  their  guard,  and  warned  that 
there  was  trouble  in  prospect?  Did  they  not  love  the 
Master?  Did  they  not  believe  in  him?  and  were  they 
not  devoted  to  him?  All  this  was  true,  and  they 
knew  it  to  be  so,  but  they  did  not  know  how  strong 
their  resolve  was.  A  few  hours  more,  and  all  was  over ; 
they  had  fled.  It  is  written  in  lurid  lines,  and  let  all 
men  heed  the  warning:  Danger  here!  An  earnest 
purpose  made  but  a  few  hours  before,  in  the  quiet  of 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  flies  like  chaff  before  the  wind 
in  the  judgment  hall  of  Christ's  enemies.  In  the 
light  of  this  appalling  fact,  how  dare  we  say  to  the 
man  who,  on  his  knees  in  the  quiet  of  his  closet,  may 
devote  himself  to  Christ,  resolving  that  he  will  after- 

wg,rd  confess  him  before  his  enemies — that  his  faith  is 
9  129 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

a  world-facing  faith?  How  shall  we  say  that  a  reso- 
lution in  the  seclusion  of  the  closet  is  equal  in  force 
to  a  profession  before' men? 

But  before  we  leave  this  appalling  example,  given 
for  our  admonition,  let  us  note  one  other  fact  con- 
cerning it,  which  is  of  great  significance.  The  reso- 
lution of  these  disciples  to  stand  by  the  Master,  even 
unto  death,  was  not  strong  enough  for  the  purpose — 
but  they  did  not  hnow  this.  They  were  completely 
self-deceived.  So  strong  was  their  assurance  that 
they — probably  for  the  first  time — called  in  question 
the  Master's  own  words,  who  solemnly  and  sadly  told 
them  of  their  weakness.  They  were  also  firm  believ- 
ers in  the  truth  of  their  Scriptures,  and  Jesus  had 
showed  them  that  these  Scriptures  had  predicted  their 
fall.  Yet,  in  face  of  all  this,  they  renewed  their  as- 
surance in  the  most  positive  teruis. 

The  truth  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  that  there  is  a 
strong  tendency  in  the  human  mind  to  self-deception 
at  this  point— so  strong  that,  in  this  case,  the  word  of 
the  Master  himself  could  not  dissipate  it.  Lord 
Bacon  taught  that  there  are  certain  constitutional  in- 
firmities, or  biasing  tendencies  of  the  human  mind, — 
called  by  him  *'idola," — which  must  be  guarded 
against  if  man  would  conquer  nature.  Men  of 
science,  in  their  physical  researches,  have  sought  to 
guard  against  these  tendencies;  and  the  human  intel- 
lect has  gone  forth  on  a  career  of  brilliant  discovery. 
Are  there  no  such  defects — no  "idola" — in  the  mind's 
action  on  religious  subjects?  They  glare  upon  us  from 
every  side.  The  heart  is  the  very  hot-bed  of  such  de- 
ceptions. A  greater  than  Bacon  has  declared  it  to  be 
''deceitful  above  all  things";  but  the  deceit  is  so  pro- 
found that  it  is  undiscovered,  and  even  the  watchmen 

130 


BAPTISM   AX    ANTECEDENT    CONDITION    OF    SALVATION 

on  the  walls  of  Zion  do  not  give  the  alarm,  but  are 
persuaded  that  a  resolution  in  the  closet  to  profess 
Christ  before  the  world,  is  a  safe  measure  of  saving 
faith.  Shall  we  go  on  forever  stumbling  into  the  pit 
where  Peter  fell,  never  even  dreaming  that  it  is  not 
safe? 

In  evangelistic  work  the  writer  has  often  watched 
persons  in  his  audience  giving,  night  after  night,  eager 
attention  to  the  truth  spoken,  and  seeming  to  be 
deeply  moved  by  it.  He  has  then  visited  these  per- 
sons at  their  homes  and  found  their  hearts  tender. 
They  had  realized  their  sin,  had  sorrowed  over  it,  and 
had  determined  to  forsake  it — they  had  repented,  and 
had  resolved  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  Master's 
service.  I  have  said  to  them,  When  will  you  profess 
the  Saviour?  * 'To-night,"  has  often  been  the  reply. 
The  evening  came,  the  invitation  was  given,  but  they 
did  not  come.  Persons  have  been  known  to  come, 
evening  after  evening,  with  the  intention  of  profess- 
ing Christ,  to  stand  pale  during  the  invitation,  to  go 
away  without  doing  it,  and  finally  never  to  do  it.  The 
opposition,  the  contumely,  the  ridicule,  of  old  asso- 
ciates, which  they  knew  would  follow  such  a  step, 
stayed  their  feet  when  they  would  come  to  Christ. 
Their  resolution  in  the  quiet  of  their  homes  was  not 
equal,  as  a  measure  of  their  faith,  to  a  public  profes- 
sion before  the  world.  Such  a  faith  as  theirs  could 
not  live  the  Christian  life  before  men.  Had  I  said  to 
them,  in  the  quiet  of  their  homes:  Only  believe;  give 
yourself  up  to  Christ,  and  take  him  as  your  Redeemer, 
and  that  moment  you  are  saved — they  would  have 
done  so  at  once;  and,  on  a  faith  which  could  not 
carry  them  one  step  in  the  Christian  life  before  the 

world,  and   which  could   not  break   the   earthly  ties 

131 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

which  Christ  declares  must  be  broken  before  one  can 
become  his  disciple.  Had  I  done  this,  I  should  have 
done  them  a  great  wrong;  I  should  have  deceived 
them.  I  should  have  cried  peace  in  the  midst  of 
danger. 

So  unreliable  is  the  purpose  to  profess,  even  when 
made  with  a  view  to  speedy  fulfillment.  But  the  case 
is  far  worse  when  the  profession  is  contemplated  at 
some  indefinite  time  in  the  future.  The  very  fact  of 
postponement  argues  unfavorably,  and  strongly  im- 
plies that  the  heart  is  not  ready.  The  purpose  to  be- 
come a  follower  of  Christ  and  profess  his  name  is 
sometimes  formed  even  years  before  repentance,  so 
far  is  it  from  being  a  true  criterion  of  the  state  of  tho 
heart.  We  have  therefore,  in  this,  no  reliable  measure 
of  the  strength  of  faith.  The  purpose  may  be  weak 
or  strong,  but  its  strength  cannot  be  determined  by 
looking  within.  The  law  which  determines  that  tht^ 
power  of  new  and  untried  faculties  of  our  nature 
cannot  be  measured  by  introspection,  but  only  by  acts 
which  call  forth  their  strength,  finds  no  exception  in 
the  convert's  faith.  It  is  a  new  force  within  the  life, 
and,  like  all  such  forces,  must  be  measured  by  trial. 
The  puddle  looks  as  deep  as  the  sky,  and  seems  to 
embosom  the  stars;  but  stir  it,  and  you  discover  its 
shallowness. 

Thus,  a  law  of  the  human  mind  demands  that  an 
act  embodying  the  common  strain  of  the  Christian  life 
should  be  provided  at  this  point  of  the  convert's  ex- 
perience. Such  an  act  is  Christian  profession.  If  the 
gospel  be  preached  faithfully,  and  baptism  be  repre- 
sented in  its  full  and  true  character,  as  a  complete 
severance    (burial)    from   the   old   life  and   entrance 

upon  a  new,  it  will  form  a  true  and  adequate  measure 

132 


BAPTISM   AN   ANTECEDENT   CONDITION   OF   SALVATION" 

of  the  convert's  faith.  That  faith  may  be  strong  or 
weak.  If  strong,  it  will  proceed  at  once  to  profession ; 
if  weak,  it  should  be  halted  at  this  point  and  com- 
pelled to  rise  to  the  higher  level,  and  assured  of  no 
acceptance  till  it  does. 

Of  course,  it  were  possible  for  God  to  inform  the 
convert  of  the  real  value  of  his  faith  by  a  divine  com- 
munication; but,  unless  this  were  accredited  b}^  some 
decisive  miracle,  it  would  open  the  way  to  all  the  ex- 
travagances of  mysticism.  Whatever  might  be  thought 
of  the  method  of  miraculous  revelation,  it  is  certain 
that  God  has  not  chosen  that  way.  Instead,  he  has 
appointed  at  this  stage  of  conversion  an  act  which 
subjects  faith  to  the  common  strain  of  the  Christian 
life,  and  thereby  proves  its  adequacy  for  the  new 
undertaking;  and  has,  with  perfect  consistency,  placed 
at  this  point  its  acceptance.  That  a  man  should  be 
permitted  to  count  himself  saved  before  he  knows 
that  he  has  saving  faith,  would  be  absurd.  Profes- 
sion (baptism)  is  the  divine  measure  of  such  faith. 
Baptism,  as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins,  is  a 
legitimate  sequence  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
an  adequate  faith. 

If  it  be  asked  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 

accept  the  sinner's    faith,    however  weak,  and  then 

help  him  to  reach  the  higher  stage,  rather  than  leave 

him  to  struggle  alone  till  he  reaches  it,  I  have  only  to 

say  that  there  is  no  such  alternative.     The  incipient 

believer  is  not  without  help  where  he  stands.     He  is 

under  the  play  of  mighty  influences  designed  to  raise 

him  from  the  lowest  depths  of  sin  and  bring  him  to 

the  point  of  professing  Christ.     The  Holy  Spirit  is 

not  yet  given  as  an  indwelling  guest,  but  it  does  not 

follow  that  He  is  idle  and  is  not  doing  all  that  is  best 

133 


MORAI.   AXD   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

at  this  point.  Pardon  is  not  yet  granted,  but  its 
withholding  is  a  tremendous  motive  to  strengthen 
resolve.  Take  care  how  you  remove  this  mighty 
gospel  force  at  this  point!  To  count  the  convert 
saved  and  admit  him  to  all  the  privileges  of  divine 
sonship  at  this  stage  would  not  be  to  itn prove  his 
condition,  but  to  make  it  vastly  worse.  There  is  a 
mighty  gospel  force  now  operating  to  overcome  the 
very  defect  that  must  be  mastered  before  he  can 
reach  the  point  where  Christ  will  accept  him — that 
of  forsaking  all  for  Christ  (Lk.  xiv.  26,27);  and  the 
assurance  of  salvation  at  this  stage  would  nullify 
that  force. 

What  was  it  that  arrested  his  steps  when  in  the 
midst  of  the  sinful  life,  but  the  thought  that  he  was 
lost?  Shall  that  powerful  motive,  which  has  brought 
him  thus  far,  be  now  withdrawn,  leaving  him  stranded 
with  a  half-faith?  He  is  still  lost  if  the  faith  that 
saves  must  be  a  world-conquering  force.  Shall  one 
of  the  mightiest  forces  of  the  gospel  to  lift  him  to  a 
practical  faith  be  now  withdrawn?  What  enemies 
are  like  those  who  hide  us  from  ourselves  and  charm 
us  with  siren  songs  in  the  presence  of  danger!  Chris- 
tianity is  not  simply  love,  it  is  wise  love,  it  is  sure- 
footed love,  it  is  great  statesmanship.  But  great 
statesmanship  is  more  than  sentiment;  it  involves  a 
just  measurement  of  forces  to  the  attainment  of  ends. 

Faith   is  one  of   the   forces   of   salvation.     It   has 

something  to  do.     When  it  is  capable  of  fulfilling  its 

purpose,   it  is  counted;   when   it  is  not,  the  sinner  is 

turned  back  until  this  factor  is  supplied  in  something 

more    than   a    sentimental    degree.      Justification   is 

by   a  faith  which  is  capable  of   filling  faith's  ofiSce. 

Christianity  is  in  earnest;  it  is  intent  on  £:ccomplish- 

134 


BAPTISM  AN   ANTECEDENT    CONDITION   OF   SALVATION 

ing  its  purpose.  It  is  not  playing  at  human  salvation. 
It  means  to  ^ake  man  out  of  sin;  and  it  cannot  count 
him  saved,  till  his  faith  is  something  more  than  a 
beautiful  sentiment. 

§^.  All  Objection:  Wliat  loill  become  of  those 
Who  Die  before  Baptism? 

It  remains  to  consider  an  objection  which  is  often 
urged  against  the  doctrine  of  baptism  as  a  condition 
of  the  remission  of  sins. 

If  a  man's  sins  are  not  remitted,  and  if  he  is  not 
saved  until  he  is  baptized,  what  will  become  of  him  if 
he  should  die  before  he  has  an  opportunity  to  be  bap- 
tized? If  his  opportunities  for  salvation  are  limited 
to  this  life,  as  is  so  generally  held,  and  if  he  goes  into 
eternity  unsaved,  must  he  not  be  lost?  On  the  other 
hand,  if  he  would  not  in  this  case  be  lost,  does  it  not 
follow  that  he  was  in  a  saved  state  before  his  death, 
and  consequently  before  his  baptism?  And  if  one 
man  may  be  saved  before  baptism,  why  not  all? 

If  baptism,  as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins,  in- 
volves the  consequence  that  any  who  may  die  before 
they  are  able  to  be  baptized  will  be  lost,  it  is  useless 
to  deny  that  it  is  a  horrible  doctrine,  and  that  if  true, 
it  ought  not  to  be. 

Perhaps  it  will  help  us  to  realize  the  situation  if  it  be 
said  that  baptism  is  not  alone  obnoxious  to  this  objec- 
tion, but  that  faith  in  Christ  involves  the  same  diffi- 
culty in  its  most  appalling  form.  If  faith  in  Christ 
be  a  condition  of  salvation,  and  if  there  be  no  other 
name  given  under  heaven  whereby  we  must  be  saved 
(Acts  iv.  12),  what  will  become  of  the  man  who  is 
living  up  to  the  light  he  has,  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
and  who  would  gladly  accept  Christ  if  he  had  the 
opportunity,  but  who  dies  without  the  knowledge  of 

135 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

him?  Will  he  be  lost?  This  is  a  very  serious  ques- 
tion when  we  consider  that  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
human  race  have  ever  heard  of  Christ,  and  that 
where  there  is  one  penitent  person  who  dies  before 
baptism  is  possible,  there  are  millions  of  truth-loving 
souls  who  pass  into  eternity  without  a  knowledge  of 
Christ.  The  question  in  its  most  appalling  form  lies, 
not  against  baptism,  but  against  faith.  Will  the  good 
man  who  dies  without  having  an  opportunity  to  be- 
lieve in  Christ  be  lost?  If  so,  it  is  a  horrible  doc- 
trine; if  not,  then  will  it  not  follow  that  he  was  saved 
before  his  death,  without  faith  in  Christ?  and,  if  one 
may  be  so  saved,  why  not  all?  and  how  is  faith  a  con- 
dition of  salvation  if  millions  may  be  saved  without 
it?  When  we  have  disposed  of  this  difficulty,  wc 
shall  find  that  the  objection  in  regard  to  baptism  has 
also  been  answered.  If  those  multitudes  who  have 
no  opportunity  to  believe  in  Christ  may  be  saved 
without  faith  in  him,  while  faith  in  him  still  remains 
a  condition  of  salvation,  why  may  not  the  penitent, 
dying  before  baptism,  be  saved  without  it,  while  bap- 
tism still  remains  a  condition  of  salvation?  Or  if 
those  truth-loving  persons  who  would  gladly  accept 
Christ  if  they  had  the  opportunity,  will  be  permitted 
to  do  so  in  eternity  and  then  be  accepted  on  such 
faith,  why  may  not  the  penitent  who  had  not  the  op- 
portunity to  make  a  profession  here,  be  permitted  to 
profess  Christ  before  the  heavenly  hosts  in  some  suit- 
able way  that  God  may  determine,  and  be  accepted 
on  such  profession?  Faith  and  baptism  stand  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  relation  to  the  difficulty  involved  in 
the  limit  of  probation,  and  the  reasoning  that  would 
sweep   away    baptism   as   a  condition   of    remission, 

would  carry  faith  with  it  in  the  same  ruin. 

136 


BAPTISM   AN   ANTECEDENT   CONDITION   OF   SALVATION 

But  these  considerations  do  not  quite  answer  the 
question  in  rehition  to  the  person  whose  faith  is  too 
feeble  to  bear  him  forward  to  profession.  The  rea- 
son why  he  does  not  profess  Christ  is  not  that  he  has 
not  the  opportunity,  but  that  he  is  not  ready.  There 
is  need  of  some  spiritual  increment  in  his  case  before 
profession  is  possible.  If  while  struggling  for  more 
faith  death  should  overtake  him,  would  he  be  lost? 
Without  question,  such  a  conclusion  would  be  revolt- 
ing. But  does  not  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  an 
adequate  faith  necessitate  it?  We  read  of  the 
**spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."  This  spiritual 
perfecting  does  not  take  place  before  death,  for  none 
are  perfect  in  this  life.  If  spiritual  completion  be- 
longs to  the  future  world,  it  may  well  include  those 
whose  faith  is  passing  to  its  higher  stage;  or  that 
passage  may  be  consummated  through  the  profound 
moral  influence  of  death  itself.  Even  the  facing  of 
death  by  wicked  men  bears  in  upon  them  with  tre- 
mendous religious  power,  shaking  them  with  terror 
and  quickening  the  conscience.  What  will  be  the 
moral  influences  of  death  we  cannot  know,  but  that 
momentous  change  cannot  be  without  them.  The 
Scriptures  know  nothing  of  any  doctrine  of  probation 
that  would  deny  to  an  ascending  faith  a  chance  to 
reach  its  goal. 

Thus,  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  an  adequate 
faith,  measured  by  baptism  as  a  solemn  act  of  pro- 
fession, involves  no  greater  difficulties  than  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation  by  faith  without  regard  to  its 
strength,  while  it  has  the  double  recommendation 
that  it  possesses  a  sweet  reasonableness  and  is  sup- 
ported by  Scriptural  authority.  Not  only  do  the 
Scriptures  teach  clearly  that  baptism  is  a  condition  of 

137 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  remission  of  sins,  but  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  an  adequate  faith — which  they  also  unquestionably 
teach — shows  why  it  should  be  so.  They  furnish  the 
rational  postulate  for  their  own  complete  vindication. 
Baptism  is  a  measure  of  spiritual  quantity;  spiritual 
quantity  entitles  to  salvation;  the  measure  is  useless 
unless  applied  before  acceptance.  Faith  is  the  spir- 
itual condition  of  salvation;    baptism,  as  an  act  of 

profession,  is  the  measuring  condition. 

138 


PART  III. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  REMISSION. 


Any  justification  of  the  reasons  underlying  the 
Scriptural  doctrine  of  baptism  in  order  to  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  must  be  incomplete  without  some  consider- 
ation of  the  nature  of  that  divine  act  which  the  Script- 
ures call  Remission.  It  is  believed  that  most  of  the 
objections  which  are  supposed  to  lie  against  this  doc- 
trine have  their  origin  in  an  inadequate  conception  of 
what  we  are  to  understand  by  "remission  of  sins."* 

But  have  we  any  data  for  such  an  examination  be- 
yond the  bare  statements  of  the  Scriptures  on  the 
subject?  How  is  it  possible  for  us  to  look  into  the 
divine  Mind  and  take  note  of  its  workings?  This  we 
cannot  do,  but  we  are  taught  that  we  are  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  this  has  vast  corroboration  in  the 
fact  that  we  can  follow  the  divine  thoughts  in  nature. 
The  laws  of  nature  are  God's  thoughts,  and  we  can 
understand  them.  The  horse  or  dog  cannot  under- 
stand the  mechanism  of  a  watch,  but  the  child  can  do 
so  because  its  mind  is  like  that  of  the  maker.  When 
we  are  told  in  the  Scriptures  of  God's  justice,  love 
and  truth,  we  look  within   our   own  minds   for  the 


*It  has  been  recently  claimed  by  some  that  "remission  of  sins" 
means  severance  from  the  love  and  practice  of  sin  ^  and  that  "jus- 
tification" means  a  rightening,  or  viaking  righteous;  but  it  does 
not  seem  to  me  that  sound  exegesis  supports  these  senses.  In 
this  investigation  I  shall  use  these  terms  in  their  usual  sense, 
"remission"  signifying  discharge  from  penalty,  forgiveness,  par- 
don. See  Webster's  International  Dictionary,  the  Standard  Dic- 
tionary, and  Thayer's  N.  T.  Greek  Lexicon  under  aphesis. 

139 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

meaning  which  we  are  to  attach  to  these  terms.  If 
they  do  not  mean  with  God  what  they  mean  with  us, 
revelation  is  a  bhmk.  But,  most  of  all,  God  has 
given  to  us  in  the  incarnation  the  ''express  image  of 
his  person."  We  have  known  this  Being  and  found 
his  character  to  be  that  of  a  noble  and  perfect  man. 
His  mind  was  like  our  minds  in  all  that  is  best  in 
them.  These  facts  may  form  the  basis  for  certain 
reverent  and  careful  reasonings  on  this  subject,  espe- 
cially such  as  are  in  support  or  illustration  of  the 
manifest  teachings  of  the  Scriptures.  We  can  only 
understand  God  through  the  workings  of  our  own 
minds,  and  it  is  certainly  legitimate  to  question  their 
instinctive  operations  with  close  care  when  they  seem 
to  antagonize  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures.  What, 
then,  is  the  nature  of  that  divine  act  which  we 
variously  call  pardon,  forgiveness,  remission,  as 
judged  from  our  own  mental  constitution? 

When  one  person  wrongs  another,  it  is  natural  for 
the  injured  party  to  feel  angry,  or  offended.  If  this 
were  the  only  effect  upon  us  of  an  offending  act,  and 
if  our  anger  were  permitted  to  act  without  restraint, 
we  should  proceed  at  once  to  execute  vengeance. 
With  savages  and  certain  men  of  a  lower  type,  this  is 
what  actually  takes  place.  But  in  nobler  minds,  an 
offending  act  will  be  followed  by  a  mixed  result. 
The  offender  will  not  cease  to  be  loved,  and  pity  and 
mercy  will  struggle  with  anger.  The  understanding 
will  then  be  called  in  to  decide  upon  a  course  to  be 
pursued  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  and  of  the 
conflicting  feelings.  When  this  decision  is  reached, 
the  will  adopts  it;  the  mind  says  to  itself,  I  will  do 
this.     In  this  act  of    the   will,  the   mental    process 

reaches   its   consummation,    and    it   remains   only  to 

140 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

carry  into  execution  tlie  mind's  decision.  In  this  pro- 
cess there  have  been:  (1)  a  single  feeling;  (2)  a 
conflict  of  feelings  resulting  in  a  complex  emotion; 
(3)  intellection;  and  (4)  decision,  or  an  act  of  the 
will. 

In  just  what  course  these  steps  will  issue,  we  cannot 
definitely  predict,  but,  if  the  offended  party  be  just, 
no})le  and  benevolent,  and  possessed  of  wisdom,  the 
offender's  relation  to  him  will  be  determined  by  these 
qualities.  There  will  certainly  be  a  painful  breach 
between  them,  and,  if  the  wronged  one  be  in  a  posi- 
tion of  authority,  he  may  decide  upon  some  form  of 
punishment,  or,  if  not,  may  deliver  the  offender  up 
to  the  constituted  authorities!  These  things  he  will 
have  a  rigid  to  do,  and  may  do  them  from  a  sense  of 
duty  to  both  the  offender  and  others. 

Now,  if  under  these  circumstances  the  wronged 
party  learns  that  the  offender  has  repented  of  his 
wrong,  a  change  will  take  phice  in  his  own  mind.  He 
will  not  be  able  to  avoid  this.  A  spirit  of  revenge 
bordering  on  an  insane  passion  might  not  be  thus 
affected,  but  this  would  not  be  normal.  The  repent- 
ance of  an  enemy  will  have  an  effect  on  the  state  of 
feeling  of  every  well-constituted  mind,  and  this  effect 
will  follow  immediately.  Even  if  the  injured  one  were 
commanded  not  to  feel  differently,  or  to  postpone  his 
change  of  feeling,  he  could  not  do  it.  According  to  a 
law  of  his  mental  constitution,  the  effect  of  the 
repentance  must  be  as  certain  as  was  that  of  the 
offense,  and  it  will  begin  to  take  place  regardless  of 
time-setting. 

But  what  will  the  effect  of  this  repentance  be? 

Its  first  effect  will  be  to  dispel  the  anger,  or  feeling 

of  offense,  and  replace  it  by  a  feeling  of  approval. 

141 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

Is  this  chauge  of  feeling  jn  the  mind  of  the  injured 
party  what  is  meant  by  remission?  If  so,  remission 
would  be  very  far  from  even  mentally  disposing  of 
the  case.  It  cannot  properly  be  called  remission,  or 
pardon.  The  effect  of  the  repentance  on  the  injured 
man's  mind  has  just  begun.  What  it  will  be  when 
completed  does  not  yet  appear.  The  mind  is  not  all 
feeling,  and  this  is  not  the  only  feeling  that  will  share  in 
determining  the  result.  A  part  of  the  change  involved 
in  remission  has  taken  place  and  the  relations  of  the 
parties  are  more  pleasant,  but  there  are  certain  other 
faculties  yet  to  act  upon  the  case,  and  these  faculties 
often  demand  that  the  feeling  shall  not  have  its  way 
— at  least  without  modification  or  restraint.  As  the 
result  of  the  offense  was  complex,  so  may  that  of  the 
repentance  be  also.  Shall  the  injured  party  at  once 
erase  the  unpleasant  past  and  fully  reinstate  the 
offender  in  his  former  relations?  Whether  he  shall 
do  so  or  not,  it  is  important  to  note  that  he  has  not 
done  so,  and  has  not  even  decided  to  do  so.  But  is 
he  not  in  justice  bound  to  do  so?  He  is  not  injustice 
bound  to  pardon  the  offender  at  all,  much  less  on  any 
particular  condition.*  God's  pardon  of  sin  is  not  an 
act  of  justice,  but  of  mercy.  Pardon  is  always  an 
act  of  clemency.     We  are  saved  by  grace  (favor),  if 


*If  repentance  rendered  a  man  innocent,  he  could  justly  claim 
to  be  so  treated,  but  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  it  does  not. 
The  readings  of  conscience  are,  that  guilt  remains  after  repent- 
ance. Compunction,  which  is  the  inward  sting  of  guilt,  con- 
tinues after  repentance,  and  has  sometimes  been  so  intense  as  to 
drive  men  into  the  confession  of  secret  crimes,  that  they  might 
suffer  the  penalty.  Repentance  does  not  change  compunction 
into  simple  sorrow,  but  the  self-blame  continues,  and  punishment 
is  accepted  as  just.  Zacchaeus  makes  restitution  with  a  penal 
overplus.  This  pain  of  conscience,  which  repentance  does  not 
dispel,  casts  its  shadow  on  eternity  and  begets  the  apprehension 
of  punishment  at  the  hands  of  a  righteous  God;    and   it  is  this 

142 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY    OF   REMISSION 

at  all.  But  can  God  be  the  loving  Being  that  he  is 
and  not  pardon  the  penitent?  Certainly  not;  but  this 
transfers  pardon  from  justice  to  love;  and  love  will 
pardon  the  sinner  at  just  such  time  and  on  just  such 
conditions  as  shall  be  seen,  in  accordance  with  divine 
wisdom,  to  be  for  his  own  best  welfare  and  that  of 
others  concerned.  But  this  matter  of  best  welfare 
opens  up  a  large  question  for  consideration,  which 
may,  or  may  not,  result  in  the  pardoning  of  the  sinner 
on  his  mere  repentance.* 

Let  it  now  be  noted  that  the  repentance,  as  the 
offense  had  done  before  it,  has  called  into  action  sev- 
eral faculties  of  the  injured  party's  mind,  and  that 
the  same  faculties  are  affected  in  both  cases,  and  in 
the  same  order.  The  wrong  act  had  first  called  forth 
anger,  but  this  was  curtailed,  and  subordinated  to 
love;  then  this  complex  feeling  called  the  intellect 
into  action  to  decide  what  was  best,  and  then  the  will 
decided  to  do  that  best  thing.  The  repentance  ap- 
peals also  first  to  the  feeling  of  anger,  and  quiets  the 
emotion.  As  the  anger,  if  it  had  not  been  subordin- 
ated to  another  feeling,  would  have  issued  directly  in 
revenge,  so  this  remission  of  anger  would,  if  operat- 
ing alone,  result  in  the   immediate  reinstatement  of 


that  lies  behind  the  efforts  at  expiation  in  all  ages,  which  con- 
sist in  some  kind  of  self-inflicted  penalty,  vicarious  or  personal. 
Whether  a  righteous  God  can,  if  he  will,  excuse  the  sinner 
without  some  atoning  act,  I  do  not  propose  to  consider.  Certain 
it  is  that  the  penitent  has  no  just  claim  to  remission. 

*  There  are  many  cases  in  our  human  relations  which  may 
seem  to  call  for  postponement.  It  may  often  be  deemed  best  to 
await  the  penitent's  acknowledgment  of  his  wrong  and  profes- 
sion of  repentance  (Lk.  xvii.  4).  If  the  wrong  consist  in  an  act 
of  theft,  the  return  of  the  stolen  property  may  be  first  demanded. 
A  parent  may  require  a  child  to  forgive  some  one  else  as  a  con- 
dition of  his  own  forgiveness,  as  God  requires  us  to  forgive  if  we 
would  be  forgiven  (Mt.  vi.  14,  15).  Other  conditions  may  be 
made  necessary  by  the  nature  of  cases  which  may  arise. 

143 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

the  offender.  But  love  steps  in,  as  before,  and  asks 
if  it  is  best.  Here  an  exercise  of  the  understanding 
is  called  for,  and  after  this,  the  will  must  act  on  its 
report.  The  mind  must  say  to  itself,  I  will  do  this. 
Ill  view  of  all  the  consid.ei^ations  I  will  release  him. 
Not  till  then  has  the  injured  party  disposed  of  the 
matter  in  his  own  mind.  It  is  in  this  act  of  the  will 
that  the  pardon  lies,  though  some  of  the  changes 
which  it  involves  have  already  taken  place.  If  it 
shall  appear  that,  in  justice  to  others,  or  out  of  re- 
gard to  the  offender's  own  welfare,  the  pardon  should 
not  be  granted  on  his  mere  repentance  without  some 
further  condition,  the  mind  will  await  the  fulfillment 
of  this  condition,  and  then,  but  not  till  then,  will  it 
say  to  itself,  I  now  drop  the  matter.  Not  till  now 
does  the  mental  act  of  pardon  take  place.  Not  till 
now  does  the  mind,  with  the  full  consent  of  all  its 
faculties,  decide  the  offender's  release.* 

What,  now,  let  us  ask,  will  be  the  effect,  respective- 
ly, of  this  change  of  feeling  and  this  act  of  will  on 
the  relations  and  destiny  of  the  wrong-doer? 

A  man  has  committed  an  atrocious  murder.  The 
trial  clearly  establishes  his  guilt  and  shows  that  he 
was  perfectly  sane  in  the  act.  The  indignation  of  the 
community  is  so  great  that,  were  it  not  for  their  re- 
spect for  law,  they  would  rise  and  execute  summary 
vengeance.  The  prisoner  is  sentenced  to  execution  at 
an  appointed  date.  But  the  keepers  soon  discover  a 
change  in  his  mental  state,  and  after  a  time  become 
fully  convinced  that  he  has  sincerely  repented  of  his 

*  Another  mental  act,  transitive  in  the  social  sense,  will  take 
place  when,  in  some  form  of  expression^  release  is  bestowed 
upon  the  offender.  This  is  also  called  pardon.  It  is  pardon,  not 
simply  as  mental  decision,  but  as  bestowal,  and  is  the  sense  in 
which  the  word  is  more  commonly  understood. 

144 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

crime.  This  knowledge  reaches  the  governor  and  he 
also  believes  in  the  man's  repentance,  and  immediate- 
ly his  feelings  toward  him  are  changed.  Should  he 
have  occasion  to  visit  the  prison  and  meet  the  con- 
demned, he  would  speak  very  kindly  to  him,  and  his 
tone  and  manner  would  indicate  his  sympathy.  He 
would  also  be  glad  to  do  him  any  favor,  or  give  him 
any  help  that  would  be  consistent  with  his  duty  as 
chief  magistrate  of  the  state;  but  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  he  will  not  pardon  him, — that  even  mentally  he 
has  not  pronounced  his  release, — and  in  leaving  the 
penalty  to  take  its  course  he  will  feel  that  he  is  doing 
him  no  injustice.  If  repentance  had  rendered  the 
man  innocent,  it  would  be  a  crime  for  the  governor  to 
let  the  penalty  stand;  but,  though,  out  of  sympathy, 
he  may  commute  the  sentence,  he  will  feel  that  he  is 
doing  right  in  not  releasing  the  man.  Pardon  would 
save  the  prisoner's  life  and  restore  him  to  citizenship, 
^.  €,,  to  his  former  relations;  but  let  it  be  noted  that 
the  governor's  change  of  feeling  toward  him  does 
neither  of  these  things,  and  let  it  be  still  further 
noted  that  his  proceeding  will  be  considered  by  all 
mankind  as  just.*  The  change  of  feeling  which  nat- 
urally follows  the  know^ledge  of  the  offender's  repent- 
ance does  have  some  effect  on  the  governor's  bearing 
toward  him,  but  it  does  not  change  his  relations  nor 
remove  the  penalty.  These  things  hinge  on  the  act 
of  will  which  constitutes  the  mind's  final  disposal  of 
the  case,  and  the  conscience  of  the  race  has  pro- 
nounced that  it  should  be  so. 
Let  us  pass  now  to  inquire  how  far  the  teachings  of 

*Kven  in  cases  where  a  civil  governor  feels  that  he  would  be 
justified  in  pardoning  an  offender,  it  is  not  the  change  of  feeling 
toward  him,  but  the  act  of  will  releasing  him,  that  decides  his 
destiny. 

10  145 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF    BAPTISM 

the  New  Testament  regarding  remission  of  sins  cor- 
respond with  the  principles  just  set  forth. 

Judging  the  Divine  Being  by  our  own  mental  con- 
stitution, we  must  suppose  that  his  state  of  feeling 
toward  the  sinner  is  changed  when  the  sinner  repents. 
Is  this  change  of  feeling  immediately  followed  by  an 
act  of  the  will  pardoning  the  sinner  and  admitting 
him  into  the  full  relation  of  sonship?  We  are  able  to 
say  positively  that  it  is  not.  When  the  apostles  went 
forth  to  preach  the  gospel,  they  proclaimed  two  con- 
ditions of  divine  acceptance — ''repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Here 
we  have  a  condition  superadded  to  repentance,  and 
its  effect  was  to  shut  out  many  persons.  Wherever 
the  apostles  went  they  were  wont  to  offer  the  prom- 
ises of  the  gospel,  first  to  the  Jewish  people,  and 
then  to  the  Gentile,  in  every  city.  If  repentance 
had  been  the  only  condition  of  remission  of  sins,  they 
should  have  preached  repentance  to  these  Jewish 
brethren,  seeking  to  lead  them  to  a  more  faithful 
service  of  the  God  they  professed  to  worship,  and 
telling  them  that  on  this  condition  they  should  receive 
remission  of  sins ;  and  then  they  should  have  tried  to 
persuade  as  many  as  possible  to  believe  in  Christ,  but 
should  never  have  rejected  them  for  not  doing  so. 
The  fact  is,  they  never  pursued  this  course — never 
made  remission  of  sins  hinge  on  mere  repentance,  but 
on  the  superadded  condition  of  believing  what  they 
said  regarding  Christ,  and  complete  commitment  to 
him.  It  cannot  be  said  that  there  could  be  no  true 
repentance  which  did  not  involve  faith  in  Christ,  for 
there  were  quite  other  difficulties  to  this  belief  than 
obliquity  of  heart.     Thomas  was  not  a  bad  man,  but 

he  refused  to  believe  without  ocular  demonstration. 

146 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  powerful  preach- 
ing of  the  apostles  might  have  moved  many  of  the 
Jewish  people  to  repentance  toward  God  who  were 
not  ready  to  believe  their  report  regarding  Jesus;  and 
if  this  would  have  secured  to  them  divine  pardon  and 
acceptance,  they  should  have  done  so,  and  left  the 
matter  of  faith  in  Christ  to  the  fortunes  of  later 
teaching.  Instead  of  this,  they  made  this  added 
requirement  the  decisive  determinant  of  their  accep- 
tance or  rejection.  How  can  we  explain  this  striking 
fact?  To  suppose  that  there  was  no  good  reason, 
and  that  God  interposed  an  unnecessary  condition  to 
his  acceptance  of  the  sinner,  were  to  impeach  his 
goodness.  Do  the  Scriptures  make  known  any  suffi- 
cient reason  for  this  proceeding? 

Paul  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans  (v.  15  .sg.) 
describes  the  case  of  a  man  who  has  come  to  hate  sin 
and  is  earnestly  striving  to  overcome  it, — the  very 
condition  which  repentance  is  designed  to  bring 
about, — but  finds  it  impossible  to  do  so  alone.  He 
finds  that  when  he  would  do  good  evil  is  present  with 
him;  so  that  what  he  hates  that  he  does,  and  what  he 
would  do  he  cannot.  Then,  comparing  sin  to  a  co^-pse 
which  is  chained  to  him,  he  cries  out  in  despair, 
*'0  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  this  body  of  death?"  The  answer  is,  *'I  thank 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  The  situation 
is,  that  a  man  who  sincerely  repents  and  undertakes 
to  live  a  righteous  life  in  his  own  strength  is  really 
not  saved,  but  lost.  With  the  man  who  has  repented 
it  is  no  longer  perversity,  but  weakness;  but  the  re- 
sult is  not  less  certain.  He  does  not  want  to  do 
wrong,  but  cannot  help  it. 

Christ  teaches  the  same  truth  under  another  figure 

147 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

when  he  represents  himself  as  a  ''vine"  in  which  his 
disciples  are  the  "branches."  "He  that  abideth  in 
me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit;  for 
apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing.  If  a  man  abide 
not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  with- 
ered; and  they  gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the 
fire,  and  they  are  burned"  (Jn.  xv.  5,  6).  This  appears 
strongly  also  in  the  very  purpose  and  nature  of  Chris- 
tianity itself.  It  is  pre-eminently,  not  a  government, 
but  a  system  of  salvation.  The  people  of  Israel  lived 
under  a  divine  government  before  Christ  came ;  and 
as  a  system  of  government  the  New  Testament  writers 
find  no  fault  with  the  Jewish  law.  Paul's  argument 
in  Romans  was  not  that  the  Jewish  law  was  defective 
as  a  system  of  government,  but  that  no  legal  system 
could  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case.  The  law 
was  not  lacking  in  elaborate  provisions  for  pardon; 
and  during  its  administration  the  nation  was  visited 
frequently  by  men  of  mighty  moral  earnestness,  who 
with  commanding  eloquence  called  the  people  to 
repentance,  the  last  of  these  being  John  the  Baptist, 
who  moved  the  nation  as  by  storm.  What  better 
than  this  could  be  desired?  Nothing,  if  righteous 
government,  together  with  ample  provision  for  pro- 
ducing repentance,  were  sufficient.  Yet  it  is  all  swept 
away  and  replaced  by  what  is  far  less  a  government 
than  a  system  of  salvation.  This  is  because  repen- 
tance is  not  sufficient.  The  man.  who  undertakes  to 
live  a  righteous  life  cannot  do  it;  and  the  penitent  is 
still  lost  unless  he  takes  a  strong  hand  that  can  help 
him.  Hence  faith,  which  binds  the  man  to  Christ  the 
Savior,  is  necessary.  And  God  does  not  pardon  the 
sinner  on  his  mere  repentance,  because  his  release  at 

this  point  could  not  be  of  the  slightest  benefit  to  him 

148 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

— nay,  it  would  do  him  great  harm  by  leading  him  to 
think  that  all  is  well  when  he  is  still  lost.*  Love  will 
not  do  this;  and  it  is  love  that  pardons.  If  God  be 
in  earnest  about  the  sinner's  salvation,  he  will  not,  by 
a  misplaced  pardon,  mislead  him  to  his  ruin.  He 
therefore  requires  that  the  sinner  shall  not  only 
repent,  but  embrace  Christianity,  which  is  God's 
hand  reached  down  to  save  him. 

But  Christianity  is  not  a  single  force;  it  embraces 
two  mighty  saving  forces — Christ,  and  his  earthly 
body,  the  church.  Each  has  its  own  necessary  use 
in  making  righteousness  practicable.  The  author  of 
Ecce  Homo  profoundly  says  that  "without  a  society, 
and  an  authority  of  some  kind,  morality  remains 
speculative  and  useless,  "f  If  this  is  true,  it  needs 
no  argument  to  show  how  vast  the  importance  of 
church  membership  is  in  making  a  righteous  life 
practicable.  Observation  conducts  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. We  need  but  look  about  us  to  see  that  every 
man  is  saved  or  ruined  by  society.  To  stand  apart 
from  all  connection  with  Christ's  spiritual  body  on 
earth  and  live  wholly  in  the  society  of  the  world  is  to 
invite  spiritual  ruin.  It  is  the  church  that  finds  man 
in  his  sin,  breaks  his  stony  heart  with  her  pleading 
voice,  and  brings  him  a  penitent  to  the  feet  of 
Christ;  and  it  is  she  that  must  still  attend  him,  or  he 
is  almost  sure  to  be  lost.  If  Christ  be  one  of  the 
mighty  arms  which  save  men,  and  the  church  the  other, 

*E)ven  Judaism  was  not  without  its  helping  influence  to  live  a 
righteous  life,  which,  in  addition  to  his  repentance,  the  Jew  was 
required  to  make  use  of  as  a  condition  of  the  divine  favor;  but,  as 
these  were  far  inferior  to  those  of  Christianity,  they  gave  place  to 
the  new. 

\Ecce  Homo,  Preface  Supplementary,  p.  ix.  His  argument  on 
this  point  is  conclusive. 

149 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

why  count  him  saved  when  he  has  taken  one  of  these 
and  not  the  other?  If  God  refuses  to  pardon  men  on 
their  mere  repentance,  and  until  they  shall  make 
their  salvation  practicable  by  laying  hold  on  his 
saving  forces,  why  pardon  them  when  they  have  but 
half  done  this?  The  truth  is,  union  with  Christ  and 
union  with  the  church  rest  on  precisely  the  same 
rational  basis.  They  are  both  practical  conditions 
of  salvation.  Neither  one  is  a  change  of  heart, 
which  takes  place  in  repentance  and  precedes  them 
both.  But  union  with  the  church  cannot  take  place 
by  a  mere  act  of  the  mind.  It  can  be  consummated 
only  by  some  external  act;  and  that  act  is,  by  divine 
appointment.  Christian  baptism.  Thus  baptism  be- 
comes a  condition  of  pardon  because  it  is  the  act  by 
which  we  form  a  connection  with  one,  yea,  both,  of 
the  two  great  saving  forces  of  Christianity.  Baptism 
for  the  remission  of  sins  and  justification  by  faith  in 
Christ  rest  on  the  same  rational  basis.  Any  course  of 
argument  which  will  exclude  the  one  will  undermine 
the  other.  A  man,  after  he  has  repented,  must  lay 
hold  on  Christ  before  he  will  be  pardoned,  because 
he  needs  this  strong  helping  power  to  make  his 
repentance  effectual;  and  he  must  lay  hold  on  the 
church  for  the  same  reason.  Repentance  is  the 
ethical  condition  of  salvation;  connection  with 
Christ  and  his  church  are  practical  conditions.  In 
repentance  a  change  of  feeling  and  purpose  with 
regard  to  righteousness  takes  place;  in  faith  and 
baptism  connection  is  made  with  the  strong  forces 
that  render  righteousness   attainable.*     If   the  con- 


*When  it  is  said  that  entering  into  union  with  Christ  is  a  practi- 
cal, not  a  moral,  condition  of  remission,  it  is  not  meant  that  sur- 
render to  and  laying  hold  on  Christ  is  not  a  moral  and  spiritual 

150 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

dition  of  pardon  must  be  solely  ethical,  it  will 
exclude  baptism,  but  with  it  faith  in  Christ  must  also 
go.  If  faith  in  Christ  may  be  admitted  among  the 
conditions  of  pardon,  for  a  similar  reason  baptism 
may  also  be  admitted.  In  cases  where  men  are 
already  believers  in  the  truth  of  Christianity  before 
they  repent,  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ  are 
brought  so  close  together  that  we  are  wont  to  regard 
them  as  practically  one  act.  This  tends  to  confuse  in 
our  minds  the  real  bearings  of  the  case;  for  in  the 
apostolic  age  "repentance  toward  God  and  faith  to- 
ward our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  were  often  separated, 
and  they  are  now  whenever  we  are  preaching  to  pious 
Jews,  or  to  skeptics  who  are  earnestly  seeking  to  do 
right  without  being  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 
In  all  such  cases  we  exact  faith  in  Christ  as  a  condi- 
tion of  remission  of  sins.  That  is,  we  exact  more  than 
the  ethical  condition,  which  is  repentance,  or  a  right- 
seeking  state  of  the  heart.  As  distinguished  from 
repentance,  faith  in  Christ  is  a  practical  condition  of 
salvation  and  stands  on  a  level  with  baptism  as  a  con- 
nective to  saving  forces.  If  baptism  were  a  mere  cere- 
mony or  external  act  it,  of  course,  could  have  no  right- 
ful place  as  a  condition  of  pardon;  but  if  it  be  what 
we  have  shown  it  to  be,  and  what  it  evidently  was  in 
the   apostolic   age,  there  is   no   more   reason  for   its 


act,  but  that  it  is  an  ad,  not  a  change  of  mental  state.  The  moral 
change  takes  place  in  repentance  and  then  may  be  followed  by 
any  number  of  moral  acts.  The  spiritual  act  of  the  soul  in  enter- 
ing into  union  with  Christ  is  profoundly  moral,  but  its  ethical 
elements  had  their  origin  in  repentance.  The  change  that  takes 
place  in  repentance  is  ethical;  the  change  that  takes  place  in 
entering  into  union  with  Christ  is  practical.  It  is  one  which 
renders  the  fulfillment  of  the  purpose  of  repentance  possible. 
It  putii  the  soul  in  connection  with  a  fountain  of  strength.  It  is 
a  vital  change  of  relation. 

151 


3IOEAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

exclusion  from  the  conditions  of  pardon  than  there  is 
for  the  exclusion  of  faith  in  Christ. 

If  the  conditions  of  remission  embrace  both  ethical 
and  practical  steps,  it  remains  to  inquire  what  is 
the  status  of  the  person  who  has  taken  the  ethical 
step,  but  has  not  yet  taken  the  practical.  We  have  a 
complete  answer  to  this  question  in  the  case  of  Cor- 
nelius. He  was  earnestly  striving  to  do  his  duty  to 
both  God  and  man.  His  moral  state  was  such  as 
repentance  is  designed  to  produce;  and  in  the  com- 
mencement of  this  course  there  must  have  been  the 
essential  elements  of  repentance.*  God's  attitude 
toward  him  was  also  what  we  should  expect.  There 
is  no  mark  of  displeasure,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
approval;  and  his  prayers  and  alms  rise  as  a  memo- 
rial before  God.  But,  nothwithstanding  these  things, 
the  narrative  clearly  informs  us  that  he  was  not 
saved;  for  he  was  told  to  send  for  Peter  who  should 
tell  him  words  whereby  he  and  his  house  should  be 
saved  (Acts  xi.  13,  14).  We  also  discover  that  he  had 
not  received  the  remission  of  sins,  for  Peter  tells  him 
that  "through  his  [Christ's]  name  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth  on  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins" — a  step 
which  Cornelius  had  not  yet  taken.  Thus  it  appears 
that  while  the  divine  feeling  toward  this  man  had 
changed,  and  the  divine  behavior  in  certain  respects 
had  also  changed,  he  was  not  yet  pardoned  or  saved. 


*The  fact  that  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  to  Christ  is 
spoken  of  as  a  "repentance  unto  life"  (Acts  xi.  18)  does  not  im- 
ply that  there  had  been  no  previous  repentance.  Cornelius  had 
repented  "toward  God,"  and  what  remained  in  his  becoming  a 
Christian  is  loosely  spoken  of  as  a  repentance  unto  life — unto  the 
life  that  Christ  offers  in  his  kingdom.  The  repentance  toward 
God  had  been  both  moral  and  loyal;  this  was  devotement  to 
Christ  with  all  that  it  involves. 

152 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   REMISSION 

This  case  presents  insurmountable  difficulties  if  we 
are  to  make  remission  of  sins  dependent  only  on 
ethical  conditions,  but,  if  it  depends  not  only  on  a 
man's  change  of  attitude  toward  righteousness  and 
toward  God,  but  also  on  his  laying  hold  on  the  strong 
forces  which  God  has  ordained  for  his  rescue  from 
sin,  all  difficulties  vanish  and  every  feature  of  the 
case  becomes  what  we  should  expect  it  to  be. 

But  there  is  one  further  point  that  is  specially 
worthy  of  our  attention.  As  already  noted,  Corne- 
lius has  reached  that  state  where  God  has  ceased  to 
be  displeased  with  him  and  views  him  with  approval, 
but  he  has  not  been  "saved"  and  has  not  received  the 
"remission  of  sins."  We  discover,  therefore,  that 
that  change  of  feeling  in  the  divine  Mind  which  fol- 
lows the  sinner's  repentance  is  not  ivhat  the  Scriptures 
mean  by  ^ ^remission  of  sins' ^ ;  hut  lohat  they  do  mean 
by  it  is  that  release  and  acceptance*  which  God  grants 
to  the  man  who  has  not  only  repented,  but  put  himself 
into  actual  connection  with  the  saving  forces  of  Chris- 
tianity. Now,  if  this  is  so — if  such  is  the  meaning 
of  remission — and  if  baptism  is  the  step  by  which 
we  enter  into  connection  with  one  t  of  the  mightiest  of 
these  forces  (the  church),  there  remains  no  longer  any 
shadow  of  reason  why  baptism  should  not  be  a  condi- 
tion of  remission  of  sins.    From  much  that  is  popularly 

*  With  this  are  connected  adoption  to  sonship  (Gal.  iii.  26,  27 
and  iv.  5,  6),  union  with  Christ  (Rom.  vi.  5),  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (Acts  ii.  38),  and  admission  into  the  church  (1.  Cor. 
xii.  13). 

1 1  say  07ie  of  these  forces,  because  we  are  here  considering 
what  is  philosophically  necessary.  It  is  impossible  to  unite  with 
the  church  without  some  act  of  profession;  it  would  be  possible 
to  unite  with  Christ,  if  he  had  so  ordained,  by  a  simply  spiritual 
act.  In  reality,  we  enter  into  union  with  Christ  and  with  the 
church  by  the  same  act,  baptism. 

153 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

said  on  the  subject  it  seems  evident  that,  when  speak- 
ing of  remission  of  sins,  many  are  thinking  of  the 
change  of  feeling  in  the  divine  Mind  toward  the  sin- 
ner; but  this  cannot  fitly  be  called  either  pardon  or 
remission.  The  act  of  will  which  in  view  of  all  the 
circumstances,  including  the  sinner's  own  welfare, 
pronounces  his  release  is  the  real  pardoning  act;  and 
it  is  just  this  that  the  Scriptures,  with  utmost  fitness, 
call  remission.  People  may  say  what  they  choose  re- 
garding remission, — meaning  by  it  God's  change  of 
feeling  toward  the  sinner, — but  when  they  attempt  to 
foist  this  meaning  into  the  Scriptures  and  then  ex- 
plain away  some  of  their  clearest  statements  to 
reconcile  them  with  this  assumed  definition,  they 
commit  a  grave  error.  The  very  fact  that  God's  ap- 
proving attitude  toward  Cornelius  seems  inconsistent 
with  the  fact  that  his  sins  had  not  been  remitted, 
should  give  us  pause.  Remission  of  sins  does  not  mean 
remission  of  divine  anger,  and  baptism,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  not  a  mere  outward  act.  When  remission  of 
sins  is  understood  to  mean  love's  release  of  the  sinner 
at  that  point  where  it  is  best  that  it  be  done,  and  bap- 
tism the  high  and  holy  spiritual  step  of  entering  i^ito 
union  with  Christ  and  his  churchy  this  controversy  will 
cease  forever.  God  is  not  angry  with  the  penitent 
sinner,  but  he  is  lost  until  he  lays  hold  on  the  saving 
forces,  and  should  not  be  counted  saved  until  he  does 
so.  Remission  of  sins  depends  not  simply  on  an 
ethical  condition,  but  also  on  practical  conditions; 
hence  not  only  repentance,  but  union  with  Christ  and 
his  church  are  necessary. 

That  God  should  require  some  practical  condition 
beyond  mere  repentance  in  order  to  remission  of  sins 

is  not  an  exceptional  procedure  confined  to  conversion 

154 


THE   PSYCHOLOGr   OF   REMISSION  

. .   .    n 

alone,  but  is  true  of  the  entire  Christian  life.     Not 
repentance  alone,  but  repentance  with  confession  of        "^^^ 
our  sins  to  God,  is   made  the  condition  of  our  later  ' 

forgiveness.  John  says,  *'If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  ^/ 
is  faithful  and  righteous  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness"  (1.  Jn.  i.  9). 
We  are  also  taught  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  to  pray  for 
forgiveness.  Neither  confession  nor  prayer  is  neces- 
sary to  inform  God  of  the  state  of  our  hearts;  yet 
forgiveness  waits  on  their  performance.  Thus,  for- 
giveness in  the  Christian  life  depends  not  alone  on 
the  ethical  condition  of  repentance,  but  also  on  a 
subsequent  practical  condition.  If  God  granted  all 
his  blessings  imsnediately,  in  accordance  with  the 
state  of  the  heart,  or  on  that  simple  condition,  it 
would  render  all  petitionary  prayer  farcical,  since 
whatever  was  prayed  for  would  already  have  been 
granted,  or  assured.  If  you  see  your  child  at  table 
f^bout  to  ask  for  some  article  of  food,  and  you  antici- 
pate his  utterance  by  helping  him  to  it,  he  will  not 
ask  for  it.  The  principle  which  would  rule  out  bap- 
tism as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins — making  re- 
mission depend  alone  on  the  state  of  the  heart — 
would  sweep  petitionary  prayer  out  of  existence. 
And  let  it  be  further  observed  that  the  Christian's 
prayer  for  forgiveness  is  a  profession  of  his  sinfulness,  ^t'"*^ 

and  that  the  baptism  of  the  convert  is  a  prayer  for  ^ 
forgiveness.  "It  is,"  says  Prof.  Stevens,  "the  re- 
quest (directed)  towards  God  for  a  good  conscience."  \ 
(1.  Pet.  iii.  21.)*  Baptism  is  the  prayer  of  the  soul 
for  a  clear  record,  for  absolution.  Forgiveness,  in 
the  Christian  life,  is  made  dependent  on  prayer  lohicJi 
embraces  confession,  and  with  the  convert  on  profes- 

*  Theology  of  the  New  Testauient,  p.  310. 

155 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

sion  which  embraces  prayer.  It  is  prayer  united  with 
profession  or  confession  in  both  cases.  Baptism  as  a 
condition  of  the  remission  of  sins  is  in  perfect  accord 
with  the  law  of  forgiveness  in  the  Christian  life.  In 
one  case  as  in  the  other,  there  must  be  an  act  super- 
added to  the  state  of  the  heart. 

The  extreme  ethicalism  of  our  time,  which  refuses 
to  recognize  any  practical  conditions  of  remission, 
will  not  stop  at  the  casting  out  of  baptism,  but  will 
tend  to  sAveep  away  all  positive  religion.     And  this 

tendency  is  already  at  work  to  no  small  extent. 

156 


BOOK  II. 

THE  NATURE  OF  JUSTIFYING  FAITH 
AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  BAPTISM 


PART  L 

THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  EXAMINATION 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Justification  ])y  faith  is  the  great  doctrine  of 
Protestantism.  The  spiritualitj',  the  moral  uplift, 
and  the  strong  individaali.sin  of  Protestantism,  are 
mainly  due  to  the  influence  of  this  great  doctrine. 
Exphiin  it  as  one  may,  its  atmosphere  is  a  soul-tonic, 
and  there  is  in  it  so  much  of  moral  health  as  to  point 
to  a  deeper  meaning  than  that  of  a  mere  arbitrary 
method  of  reaching  reconciliation  with  God. 

Salvation  by  faith  is  also  one  of  the  cardinal  doc- 
trines of  primitive  Christianity.  Salvation  by  grace 
and  salvation  by  faith  rise  like  twin  mountains  in  the 
area  of  Christian  teaching.  They  are  two  mighty 
suns  ruling  in  the  heavens  of  divine  revelation,  about 
which  circle  all  other  truths.  Grace  (the  divine  giv- 
ing) and  faith  (the  human  taking)  form  the  highest 
generalization  of  Christianity.  No  system  can  repre- 
sent the  gospel  fairly  which  is  not  true  to  the  over- 
shadowing prominence  of  these  doctrines. 

§/.     Some  Preliminary  Considerations. 

It   is  the   purpose   of  the  present  investigation  to 

determine  the  relation  of  Baptism  to  justification  by 

faith.     In  order  to  do   this,   it  will  be  necessary  first 

to   inquire   what   is    meant   by   the    term   faitJi.      In 

approaching  this  question,  however,  it  is   important 

159 


MORAL   AND    SPIPaTUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

that   we   guard    against    certain    assumptions   which 
would  vitiate  our  whole   examination: 

1 .  It  will  not  do  for  us,  in  advance,  to  fix  upon  a  cer- 
tain definition  of  the  word  faith  and  its  corresponding 
term  believe,  and  seek  to  apply  this  to  all  cases  where 
these  words  occur  in  the  New  Testament.  This 
would  simply  be  to  read  our  own  preconceptions  into 
the  Scriptures,  and  could  have  no  value  beyond  that 
of  exhibiting  our  ingenuity. 

2.  Having  determined  the  meaning  of  the  word 
faith  (or  believe)  in  any  passage  of  Scripture,  we 
must  not  assume  that  it  has  exactly  that  meaning  in 
all  other  places  where  it  is  found.  This  would,  no 
doubt,  be  a  very  convenient  method  of  interpretation, 
but  it  would  ignore  one  of  the  fundamental  facts  of 
language,  and  be  as  misleading  as  convenient.  To 
commit  this  blunder  at  the  outset  would  be  to  shut 
the  door  in  advance  against  all  reliable  results.  Such 
an  assumption  would  fatally  disqualify  us  for  any 
trustworthy  investigation. 

The  fact  of  language  to  which  I  refer  is  well  set 
forth  by  Sir  William  Hamilton  in  his  Lectures  on 
Logic.  Speaking  of  the  ambiguity  of  language  as  a 
source  of  error  in  reasoning,  he  says : 

*'As  this  is  the  principal  source  of  error  originating 

in  language,  it  will   be  proper   to   be   a  little    more 

explicit.    And  here  it  is  expedient  to  take  into  account 

two  circumstances,  which  mutually  affect  each  other. 

The  first  is,  that  as  the  vocabulary  of  every  language  is 

necessarily  finite,  it  is  necessarily  disproportioned  to 

the  multiplicity,  not  to  say  infinity,  of  thought;  and 

the   second,   that  the   complement  of  words  in   any 

given  language  has  been  always  filled  up  with  terms 

significant  of   objects   and  relations   of  the  external 

160 


INTRODUCTORY 

world,  before  the  want  was  experienced  of  words  to 
express  the  objects  and  relations  of  the  internal. 

*^From  the  first  of  these  circumstances,  considered 
exclusively  and  by  itself,  it  is  manifest  that  one  of 
two  alternatives  must  take  place.  Either  the  words 
of  a  language  must  each  designate  only  a  single  notion, 
— a  single  fasciculus  of  thought, — the  multitude  of 
notions  not  designated  being  allowed  to  perish,  never 
obtaining  more  than  a  momentary  existence  in  the 
mind  of  the  individual;  or  the  words  of  a  lan- 
guage must  each  be  employed  to  denote  a  plurality  of 
concepts.  In  the  former  case,  a  small  amount  of 
thought  would  be  expressed,  but  that  precisely  and 
without  ambiguity;  in  the  latter,  a  large  amount  of 
thought  would  be  expressed,  but  that  vaguely  and 
equivocally.  Of  these  alternatives  (each  of  which 
has  thus  its  advantages  and  disadvantages)  the  latter  is 
the  one  which  has  universally  been  preferred;  and 
accordingly,  all  languages  by  the  same  word  express  a 
multitude  of  thoughts,  more  or  less  differing  from 
each  other.  Now,  what  is  the  consequence  of  this? 
It  is  plain  that  if  a  word  has  more  than  a  single 
meaning  attached  to  it,  when  it  is  employed  it  cannot 
of  itself  directly  and  peremptorily  suggest  any  definite 
thought; — all  that  it  can  do  is  vaguely  and  hypotheti- 
cally  to  suggest  a  variety  of  different  notions;  and  we 
are  obliged  from  a  consideration  of  the  context, — of 
the  tenor, — of  the  analogy,  of  the  discourse,  to  surmise, 
with  greater  or  less  assurance,  with  greater  or  less 
precision,  what  particular  bundle  of  characters  it  was 
intended  to  convey."* 

In  dealing  with  words,  therefore,  we  do  not  have  to 
do  with  certain   fixed  quantities  whose  values  never 

^Lectures  on  Logic,  p.  436,  sg. 
11  161 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

vary,  but  with  signs  whose  meanings  shift  with  the 
ever-changing  positions,  or  connections,  in  which 
they  stand.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  w^ord  good 
has  no  less  than  forty  different  meanings^  or  shades 
of  meaning.  Prof.  Whitney  says  that  "it  is  the  cus- 
tomary office  of  a  w^ord  to  cover  not  a  point,  but  a 
territory  that  is  irregular,  heterogeneous,  and  vari- 
able";  and  again:  "If  we  w^ere  to  count  in  our 
words  only  those  degrees  of  difference  of  meaning  for 
which  in  other  cases  separate  provision  of  expression 
is  made,  the  100,000  English  words  would  doubtless 
be  found  equivalent  to  a  million  or  two."* 

Under  such  circumstances,  both  the  expresiJon  of 
thought  and  the  interpretation  of  such  expression 
would  at  first  seem  to  be  a  matter  so  tedious  and 
uncertain  as  to  render  it  well-nigh  impracticable;  but 
Sir  William  Hamilton  further  says: 

"In  this  procedure  what  is  chiefly  w^onderful,  is  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  mind  compares  the  word  with 
its  correlations,  and  in  general,  without  the  slightest 
effort,  decides  which  among  its  various  meanings  is 
the  one  which  it  is  here  intended  to  convey.  But 
how  marvelous  soever  be  the  ease  and  velocity  of  this 
process  of  selection,  it  cannot  always  be  performed 
with  equal  certainty.  Words  are  often  employed  with 
a  plurality  of  meanings;  several  of  which  may  quad- 
rate, or  be  supposed  to  quadrate,  with  the  general 
tenor  of  the  discourse.  Error  is  thus  possible;  and  it 
is  also  probable,  if  we  have  any  prepossession  in 
favor  of  one  interpretation  rather  than  of  another.  So 
copious  a  source  of  error  is  the  ambiguity  of  language, 
that  a  very  large  proportion  of   human  controversy 

*Life  and  Growth  of  Language,  by  Wm.  D.  Whitney,  p.  111. 

162 


INTRODi:CTORY 

has  been  concerning  the  sense  in  which  certain  terras 
should  be  understood;  and  many  disputes  have  even 
been  fiercely  waged,  in  consequence  of  the  disputants 
being  unaware  that  they  agreed  in  opinion,  and  only 
differed  in  the  meaning  they  attached  to  the  words  in 
which  that  opinion  was  expressed." 

If  mistakes  in  gathering  the  meaning  of  words  from 
their  correlations  prove  so  fertile  a  source  of  error, 
what  must  be  said  of  any  method  of  interpretation 
which  does  not  even  attempt  to  do  this — which 
ignores  the  whole  process  and  fails  to  apply  the 
principles  by  which,  in  common  speech,  the  mean- 
ings of  words  are  determined? 

The  word  faith  has  several  meanings,  so  has  also 
the  word  believe;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  original 
Greek  words  of  which  these  are  translations.  It  is 
antecedent!}'  probable  that  we  shall  find  these  words 
used  in  many,  if  not  all,  of  their  various  senses  in  the 
Scriptures;  and  the  exact  meaning  of  either  of  them, 
in  any  particular  passage,  must  be  determined  by  its 
correlations,  or  the  conditions  under  which  the  act 
takes  place.  To  assume  the  contrary  would  be  to 
render  any  investigation  of  this  subject  worthless. 

3.  The  application  of  the  linguistic  principles  by 
which  the  various  meanings  of  words  are  determined 
may  show  that  the  word  faith  and  its  corresponding 
term  believe  are  sometimes,  or  prevailingly,  used  in  a 
sense,  or  senses,  in  the  New  Testament,  wdiich  they 
do  not  bear  in  ordinary  literature.  To  assume  this 
to  be  so,  would  be  wholly  unwarrantable;  yet,  no 
more  so  than  to  assume  the  contrary.  We  may  say 
in  advance  that  there,  is  no  antecedent  improbability 
against  it.     Every  new  thing  and  every  new  concep- 

.tion  must  have  a  name.     In   the   growth  of   modern 

1C3 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

science  we  draw  extensivel}"  for  terms  from  the  two 
great  classical  languages,  Greek  and  Latin.  But  the 
most  common  course,  in  the  history  of  ideas,  has  been 
to  express  new  conceptions  by  a  modification  or  ex- 
tension of  meaning  of  terms  already  in  current  use; 
and  such  has  been  the  method  of  the  inspired  writers. 
Christianity  rose  upon  the  world  like  a  new  creation, 
and  it  has  glorified  not  a  few  of  the  words  which 
represent  its  cardinal  thoughts.  The  words  life, 
deaths  cross,  Christ,  repentance,*  and  a  number  of 
others,  have  taken  on  new  meanings  in  Scripture 
usage;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  so  important  a 
word  as  faith,  in  the  Christian  system,  will  also  be 
found  to  have  been  subject  to  the  same  influence. 
But  we  must  assume  nothing  on  this  point.  Whether 
or  not  faith  is  ever  used  in  the  Scriptures  in  any 
special  sense,  and,  if  so,  what  that  sense  is,  must  be 
determined  by  the  application  of  linguistic  laws. 
§^.  0}ie  of  the  Uses  of  the  Word  ''Believe:" 
With  these  preliminary  considerations  we  are  now 
prepared  to  enter  upon  the  question  of  the  meaning, 
or  meanings,  of  the  word  faith.  It  is  not  my  present 
purpose  to  do  this  exhaustively,  but  only  to  note  such 
uses  of  the  word  as  bear  upon  the  question  under 
consideration.  Let  us,  then,  proceed  to  notice  one  of 
its  meanings. 

When  the  apostles  went  forth  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  world,  their   first   task   was   to  establish   the 


*  "In  classical  usage,  metanoeoo  never  denotes  a  change  ot 
moral  bearing,  or  of  the  manner  of  life  in  general,  but  always 
refers  to  some  particular  points  of  behavior." — Cremer's  Biblico 
Theological  Lexicon.,  sub  voce. 

That  is,  the  word  repentance  in  classical  usage  has  no  profound 
moral  meaning.  What  a  vast  change  passes  over  it  in  its  in- 
troduction into  Christian  usage! 

164 


INTRODUCTORY 

divinity  and  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  This  they  did  by 
presenting  evidence  addressed  to  the  understanding. 
Those  who  were  convinced  by  this  evidence  were  said 
to  have  believed  this  tinith.  The  Samaritans  (Acts 
viii.  12)  are  said  to  have  ''believed.  Philip  preachin;^ 
good  tidings  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ."  I  see  nothing  to  indicatL* 
that  the  word  "believed"  here  means  anything  more 
than  the  crediting  of  Philip's  preaching  as  true.  We 
have  here  a  conviction  of  the  understanding  regard- 
ing certain  truths.  The  person  believed  is  Philip, 
and  the  thing  believed  is  his  preaching.  This,  then, 
— one  of  the  most  common  uses  of  the  word  believe 
in  all  literature, — is  at  least  one  of  its  uses  in  the  New 
Testament.  There  would  be  ho  impropriety  in  speak- 
of  this  believing  as  beliefs  or  faith.  The  word  faith 
is  the  translation  of  simply  the  nounal  form  of  the 
word  translated  believe.  The  two  words  belief  arid 
faith  are  represented  by  only  one  word  in  the  Greek. 
Had  the  Greek  possessed  two  words  corresponding 
respectively  to  our  words  faith  and  belief  they  would 
probably  have  been  used  distinctively;  but  as  it  is, 
one  word  covers  the  whole  ground,  and  that  word  is 
simply  the  nounal  form  of  the  word  rendered  believe. 
I  believe  that  that  act  of  believing,  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking,  is  more  accurately  designated  by  the 
word  belief  than  by  the  word  faith,  and  that  we  shall 
avoid  unnecessary  ambiguity  by  so  designating  it. 
The  English  language  is  richer  at  this  point  than  the 
Greek,  and  we  may  as  well  possess  ourselves  of  the 
advantage.  What,  then,  let  us  proceed  to  inquire,  is 
the  nature  of  this  belief? 

Let  it  be  said  in  the  first  place  that  it  possesses  no 

proper  moral  element.     It  is  a  matter   of  the  under- 

165 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

standing.  The  belief  that  "Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  Living  God,"  reached  by.  simply  weighing 
the  evidence  presented,  may  be  no  more  a  moral  act 
than  reaching  the  conclusion,  through  a  similar  pro- 
cess, that  Julius  Ccesar  was  assassinated.  True,  a 
man  may  apply  himself  to  this  investigation  wnth 
high  and  moral  motives,  and  these  may  have  some- 
thing to  do  in  determining  the  conclusion  he  shall 
reach,  but  not  necessarily  or  always  so.  The  object 
in  listening  to  the  gospel  may  have,  and  in  a  large 
proportion  of  cases  does  have,  no  higher  motive 
than  curiosity.  This  great  truth  may  even  take  pos- 
session of  the  understanding,  while  the  mind  is  en- 
gaged only  in  resistance  to  its  acceptance.  In  our 
day  multitudes  believe  it  from  their  childhood,  just  as 
they  hold  other  inherited  beliefs,  and  w^ith  as  little 
moral  purpose;  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  may  be 
living  godless  or  even  wicked  lives.  To  save  a  man 
on  such  a  faith  would  be  to  save  him  entirely  regard- 
less of  moral  character. 

This  conviction  of  the  understanding  may  be  at- 
tended by  various  emotions.  The  affections  may  be 
touched,  or  the  truth  may  cause  alarm,  and  roiise  the 
conscience  to  compunction,  as  it  did  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  In  this  we  have  something  of  a  moral 
quickening.  But  all  this  may  take  place  without  ever 
leading  to  repentance.  The  love  of  the  sinful  life 
may  be  so  strong  as  to  resist  these  impulses,  and  the 
belief  may  prove  abortive.  When  it  is  successful, 
its  value  lies  in  its  causative  power — its  power  to 
work  repentance.  Apart  from  this,  it  becomes  a 
savor  of  death,  by  leaving  the  heart  more  obdurate 
than  before. 

Such  a  belief,  which  may  leave  a  man  still  in  a  state 

im 


INTRODUCTORY 

of  rebellion  against  God,  is  not  the  faith  that  is  said 
to  be  "counted  for  righteousness."  To  count  this 
for  righteousness  would  be  to  count  a  man  righteous 
without  repentance,  and  while  still  clinging  to  his  sin. 
If  it  be  claimed  that  this  belief  is  not  counted  for 
righteousness  until  it  issues  in  repentance  and  sub- 
mission to  God — in  other  words,  that  it  is  not  faith 
that  is  so  counted,  but  faith  plus  repentance  and  sub- 
mission, steps  far  more  vital  than  the  belief  itself, — 
I  reply  that  the  faith  that  was  counted  to  Abraham 
for  righteousness  was  so  counted  without  waiting  for 
it  to  be  followed  by  repentance,  and  that  it  is  not 
represented  as  being  followed  by  repentance  at  all  in 
his  case.  It  was  faith^  not  faith  plus  repentance, 
that  was  counted  to  Abraham  for  righteousness. 
Abraham's  faith  was  very  different  from  the  belief 
we  are  now  considering,  and  contained  within  itself 
all  the  spiritual  elements  necessary  to  'acceptance 
with  God.  If  we  shall  compare  the  sinner's  state  of 
mind  at  this  point  with  that  of  Abraham  when  his 
faith  was  counted  for  righteousness,  we  shall  discover 
a  vast  difference.  They  belong  to  different  epochs  in 
human  experience.  Abraham  was  not  then  consider= 
ing  the  question  whether  he  should  repent  and  sub- 
mit to  God,  and  his  faith  at  that  time  had  a  very 
different  content  from  the  belief  which  we  are  now 
considering,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 

If  the  motives  brought  to  bear  upon  the  heart 
through  this  conviction  of  the  understanding  prove 
powerful  enough  to  break  the  attachment  to  sin,  we 
shall  have  r^epentance^  which  consists  in  a  resolution 
springing  from  sorrow  for  sin,  to  abandon  the  sinful 
life  and  enter  upon  the  service  of  God.     This  change 

is  a  vastly  important  one  and  is,  moreover,  of  a  moral 

167 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

character;  but  the  penitent  has  not  yet  reached  that 
faith  which  is  said  to  be  counted  for  righteousness. 
What,  then,  is  this  faith? 
This  we  are  now  prepared  to  consider. 

168 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH. 

The  Apostle  Paul  was  the  first  to  discuss  the  ques- 
tion of  the  relation  of  faith  to  salvation;  and,  in  his 
great  argument  on  justification,  we  shall  find  much 
information  regarding  the  nature  of  that  faith  which 
forms  the  condition  of  the  divine  acceptance. 

In  this  argument,  which  will  be  found  chiefly  in 
the  Roman  and  Galatian  Epistles,  he  undertakes  to 
prove  that  men  are  justified  by  faith,  rather  than  by 
the  legal  observance  of  the  Jewish  law,  and  adduces 
the  fact  that  Abraham,  the  ancestral  head  of  the  Jew- 
ish race,  to  whom  the  promises  were  made  which  con- 
stituted the  very  hope- of  Israel,  was  justified  by  faith, 
and  not  by  the  law,  which  came  hundreds  of  years 
later.  The  demonstration,  therefore,  is  complete  that 
faith,  not  the  works  of  the  law,  constitutes  the  true 
condition  of  justification.  But  let  it  be  observed  that 
this  conclusion  depends  wholly  on  the  fact  that  Abra- 
ham was  justified  by  faith.  In  view  of  this,  the  argu- 
ment is  worthless  regarding  any  other  kind  of  faith 
than  that  by  which  Abraham  was  justified.  Take  any 
essential  element  out  of  that  faith,  and  the  whole 
argument  will  fall  to  the  ground.  It  is  of  tliis  faith, 
and  nothing  less,  that  it  is  said  that  *'it  was  counted 
for  righteousness."  What,  then,  was  the  nature  of 
this  faith? 

§  1.     Abraham' s  Faith  ivas  Trust. 

Abraham  was  called  of  God  to  leave  his  country 

and  kindred,  and  go  out  into  a  strange  land,  which — 

^fter  his   arrival  there — -God  promised  to  give  to  his 

169 


MOKAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

seed  for  an  inheritance.  He  had  also  promised  him  a 
numerous  posterity,  and  declared  that  he  would  make 
him  a  great  nation,  and  that  in  his  seed  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed. 

Abraham  obeyed,  going  to  the  land,  and  wandering 
as  a  stranger  there.  Time  passed,  and  he  had  no 
natural  heir,  and,  by  the  laws  of  nature,  could  expect 
none.  His  faith  in  God  was  not  shaken,  but  he  seems 
no  longer  to  have  expected  the  promise  to  be  fulfilled 
in  his  own  person;  and  this  was  a  source  of  great 
sorrow  to  him. 

In  this  situation,  God  appeared  to  him,  and  an- 
nounced a  literal  fulfillment  of  his  promise,  and  gave 
him  many  definite  particulars  regarding  it.  In  face  of 
all  the  seeming  impossibilities  involved,  we  are  told 
that  Abraham  "believed  in  the  Lord;  and  he  counted 
it  to  him  for  righteousness"  (Gen.  xv.  6).  What 
does  this  language  mean? 

The  original  word  translated  "believed,"  in  this 
passage,  is  given  by  one  of  the  authors  in  Lange's 
Commentary  as  "embracing  and  steadfastly  resting 
upon";  and  another  says:  "The  word  'believed'  is 
here  exact,  or  precise;  he  cleaves  to  the  Lord  (pre- 
cisely: he  stays,  supports,  rests  himself  upon  the 
Lord)."  This  is  clearly  a  description  of  trufit. 
Thayer's  N.  T.  Lexicon  defines  the  Greek  word  trans- 
lated "believed,"  in  all  the  New  Testament  references 
to  Abraham's  faith,  as  "^o  trust.''*  Paul  himself 
speaks  of  it  as  hope  (Rom.  iv.  18),  which  never  is  a 
mere  matter  of  the  understanding.     But  we  are  not 


*In  the  Supplement  to  Cremer's  Biblico-Tlieological  Lexicon  of 
New  Testament  Greek  the  author  says  regarding  faith  that  "with 
Paul  the  element  of  unreserved  trust  occupies  the  first  place,  with 
the  signification  'unreservedly,  without  demur  of  word  or  act,  to 
give  oneself  up  to  the  God  of  our  salvation'." 
^  ^  170 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING    FAITH 

dependent  on  verbal  criticism  alone,  nor  even  on 
Paul's  description,  for  determining  the  character  of 
Abraham's  faith.  It  included  the  laying  hold  on  a 
promise  which  embraced  tiie  great  desire  of  his  life. 
Thus  it  was  a  reliance  of  the  heart  on  God  for  the  be- 
stowment  of  a  great  blessing;  it  was  a  strong,  un- 
wavering trust.  Abraham's  faith  was  a  personal- 
trust — trust,  in  a  matter  deeply  concerning  his  own 
personal  interests. 

The  faith,  then,  that  was  counted  to  Abraham  for 
righteousness  was  per so7ial  tricst ;  and  Paul  argues  that 
such  a  trust  in  God  revealed  in  Christ  will  be  counted 
for  righteousness  in  every  age. 

The  act  of  counting  this  faith  for  righteousness  is 
called  justification.  This  justification  may  be  said  to 
be  a  forensic  act.  It  is  not  minahing  righteous  (it  was 
not  so  with  Abraham),  but  a  pronouncing  righteous. 
In  courts  of  law  the  act  of  acquittal,  or  pronouncing 
not  guilty,  takes  place  simply  on  the  ascertainment  of 
the  fact  of  the  innocence  of  the  accused.  But  as  all 
men  have  sinned,  God  can  pronounce  no  such  justifi- 
cation on  them.  If,  in  view  of  any  condition  he  ac- 
quits them,  it  must  be  as  an  act  of  favor,  or  grace; 
and  his  pronouncing  them  just,  or  free  from  con- 
demnation, must  involve  pardon,  to  which  it  is  prac- 
tically equivalent.* 

*It  is  not  claimed  that  the  words  justification  and  pardon  have 
precisely  the  same  meaning.  The  one  is  the  act  of  a  Judge;  the 
other,  that  of  a  vSovereign.  The  one  implies  that  the  law  is  sat- 
isfied; the  other,  that  it  is  relaxed.  The  man  who  is  justified  is 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  a  righteous  man.  These  terms, 
however,  are  used  to  designate  the  same  transaction  viewed  from 
different  standpoints,  and  may  be  taken  as  practically  equiva- 
lent. In  Rom.  iv.  7,  8,  Paul  nsQsforsciveness  and  the  non-imputa- 
tion of  sin  as  equivalent  to  Jusfificationy  while  faith  is,  in  Rom. 
iv.  5,  the  condition  oi  justification,  and  in  Acts  x.  43,  of  remis- 
sion of  sins. 

171 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Trusty  the  word  used  to  designate  the  condition  on 
which  pardon  is  granted,  does  not,  in  its  ordinary 
meaning,  represent  a  moral,  or  even  a  loyal,  act.  The 
merchant's  trust  of  a  customer  until  he  is  able  to  pay, 
is  simply  a  business  affair.  It  involves  no  loyalty  to 
any  one;  and,  so  far  from  its  being  moral,  the  mer- 
chant may  be  a  very  immoral  man. 

If  this  be  all  there  is  in  justification  by  faith,  it  is 
certainly  very  disappointing  to  our  moral  instincts, 
and  ill  accords  with  our  ideas  of  God  as  a  righteous 
Being.  Various  expedients  have  been  resorted  to  to 
relieve  this  difficulty.  It  has  been  held  that  justi- 
fication is  not  a  pronouncing  just,  but  a  making  just; 
but  the  language  will  not  bear  this  construction.  It 
has  been  held  that  faith  is  but  one  of  the  conditions 
of  justification,  and  that  through  subsequent  repent- 
ance and  obedience  it  is  rendered  fit  to  be  counted  for 
righteousness;  but  Paul  speaks  only  of  this  one  con- 
dition throughout  the  argument,  and  rests  his  conclu- 
sion on  a  case  in  the  life  of  Abraham  in  which  faith 
was  not  followed  by  repentance,  and  in  which  the 
counting  for  righteousness  did  not  wait  for  any  other 
condition.* 

Had  he  been  arguing  that  it  is  faith  plus  some  sub- 
sequent act  that  is  counted  for  righteousness,  the  case 
of  the  offering  of  Isaac  would  have  been  far  more  to 
the  point;  and,  as  it  occurred  hundreds  of  3^ears  be- 
fore the  giving  of  the  Jewish  law,  it  would  have  served 
equally  well  in  excluding  that  law  as  a  ground  of  justi- 
fication. Here  Abraham's  faith  passed  into  an  act  of 
obedience,  and  received  the  warmest  divine  approval, 

*Paul  founds  his  argument  on  that  incident  in  the  life  of  Abra- 
ham recorded  in  the  15th  chap,  of  Genesis,  and  not  on  that  re- 
lating to  his  call  (Gen.  xii.),  nor  that  relating  to  the  offering  of 
Isaac  (Gen.  xxii.). 

172 


THE    NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

and  was,  as  James  says,  "counted  for  righteousness." 
Yet  Paul  does  not  choose  this  case,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, selects  one  in  which  the  counting  for  righteous- 
ness was  in  view  of  a  mental  act  of  trust.  If  faith 
must  be  followed  by  other  conditions,  such  as  repent- 
ance and  submission,  Paul  certainly  was  very  infelicit- 
ous both  in  the  wording  of  his  argument  and  in  the 
selection  of  his  typical  example. 

Another  method  of  relieving  the  difficulty  in  ques- 
tion is  that  of  giving  to  faith  a  high  moral  and  spirit- 
ual content;  but,  if  there  be  no  other  reason  for  this 
than  to  escape  a  difficulty,  we  shall  hardly  be  war- 
ranted in  doing  so. 

§  2.  The  Nature  of  the  Faith  that  is  Reckoned  for 
Righteousness. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  examine  the  trust  which 
stands  at  the  threshold  of  the  Christian  life  on  its  own 
merits,  without  resort  to  special  pleading,  and  regard- 
less of  any  difficulties  which  may  be  involved.  This 
faith  is  a  fact  in  human  experience.  What  is  its 
nature? 

Let  it  be  said,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  is  not  a  mere 
spontaneous  trust,  but  rather  a  trust  involving  an  act 
of  the  loill.  It  is  necessarily  so,  from  the  very  fact  that 
it  is  made  a  condition  of  justification.  A  man  cannot 
trust  in  Christ  as  his  Savior  until  he  fulfills  the  condi- 
tion that  makes  Christ  his  Savior.  Thus,  the  very  fact 
of  making  trust  a  condition  seems  at  first  thought  to  in- 
volve an  impossibility.  Christ  is  not  a  man's  Savior 
till  he  trusts  Him  as  such,  and  he  cannot  trust  Him  as 
such  until  he  becomes  his  savior.  How,  then,  can 
such  a  trust  ever  come  into  existence?  How  can  any- 
thing come  into  existence,  whose  existence  is  the  an- 
tecedent condition  of  that  very  existence?     There  is 

173 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

no  escape  from  this  difficulty  unless  trust  shall  take 
into  itself  an  element  of  will.  This  will  best  appear 
from  two  illustrations: 

A  father  tells  his  child  that  at  Christmas  time  he 
will  make  him  a  beautiful  present.  No  condition  is 
expressed.  There  is,  therefore,  nothing  for  the  child 
to  decide — nothing  before  its  will.  It  knows  of  its 
father's  truthfulness,  love,  and  ability  to  perform 
what  he  has  promised;  and  it  involuntarily — spon- 
taneously— trusts  him  for  it,  looking  forward  to  the 
fulfillment  with  glad  expectancy.  Its  trust  is  sponta- 
neous. But  let  us  suppose  another  case:  A  man  is 
very  ill  and  has  been  given  up,  by  his  physician,  to 
die.  A  few  hours  after  this  announcement,  a  friena 
enters  the  sick  room,  accompanied  by  a  distinguished 
specialist,  advances  to  the  bedside,  and  says:  "I  could 
not  see  you  die  without  summoning  this  doctor  to  see 
you.  Please  let  him  examine  your  case;  and  then, 
if  you  do  not  wish  to  employ  him,  no  harm  will  be 
done."  The  physician  approaches,  and,  after  making 
a  careful  examination,  says:  "My  friend,  you  are  a 
very  sick  man,  but  if  you  will  intrust  your  case  to  me, 
lean  save  your  life."  There  is  instantly  a  question 
before  the  mind  of  the  sick  man  for  decision.  He  is 
not  now  trusting  the  physician  to  save  his  life.  If  he 
decides  not  to  accept  his  services,  he  will  never  so 
trust  him.  When,  by  an  act  of  will,  he  accepts  him, 
he  immediately  begins  to  trust  him — to  rely  upon  him 
for  such  service.  He  cannot  do  so  without  this  inter- 
vening act  of  the  will.  Without  this  act  of  accept- 
ance, this  specialist  will  never  be  his  physician,  and 
he  can  trust  him  for  no  such  service. 

No  man  can  trust  in  Christ  as  his  Savior  until  Chrisi 

174 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

becomes  his  Savior,  and  he  does  not  become  his  Savior 
until  the  sinner  accepts  him  as  such. 

It  is  proper, however,  hereto  remark  that  trust  may 
pass  through  two  stages — the  stage  of  anticipation, 
and  the  stage  of  appropriation.  One  may  rely  on 
Christ's  becoming  his  Savior,  and  then,  after  he  has 
become  so,  he  may  rely  upon  him  as  his  Savior. 
Neither  of  these  forms  of  trust  can  come  into  exist- 
ence without  an  act  of  the  will.  No  one  can  rely  on 
Christ's  becoming  his  Savior  until  he  decides  to  accept 
him  as  such,  and  no  one  can  rely  on  Christ  as  his 
Savior  before  he  does  so  accept  him.  That  it  is  the 
latter — the  completed  form  of  trust — which  is  counted 
for  righteousness,  I  shall  assume  for  the  present, 
reserving  the  proof  till  a  later  date. 

But  lot  us  here  observe  that  we  have  discovered  one 
very  important  fact  regarding  this  faith,  namely,  that 
there  can  be  no  trust  in  Christ  which  does  not  begin 
in  an  act  of  the  vvill  accepting  him.  Spontaneous 
trust  is  made  impossible  by  the  very  conditiouality  of 
justification.  It  will  be  of  great  importance  to  keep 
this  before  the  mind,  since  the  unconscious  gliding 
from  one  conception  to  the  other  has  been  a  cause  of 
much  confusion,  and  really  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
many  false  ideas  regarding  faith.  The  trust  that  is 
counted  for  righteousness  begins,  and  must  begin,  in 
an  act  of  the  loill.  It  has  no  existence  prior  to  an  act 
of  the  will  accepting  Christ. 

But  while  we  have  learned  this  much  regarding  this 

faith,  we  have  yet  discovered  nothing  which  shows  it 

to   be   either  a  moral  or  a  loyal  act.     A  gentleman 

offers  to  hand  a  lady  from  a  carriage ;  she  accepts  his 

service   and   trusts   herself   to    him,   relying    on    his 

strength,  ability,  and  intention  to  perform  the  service 

175 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

properly.  Here  we  have  trust  beginning  in  acceptance, 
but  the  lady's  act  possesses  no  moral  quality;  nor  does 
it  involve  any  loyalty  to  the  gentleman. 

If  the  accepting  trust  in  Christ  be  nothing  higher 
than  this,  the  disappointment  of  our  moral  nature 
must  remain,  and  justification  by  faith  must  seem  little 
less  than  trifling  with  a  grave  and  serious  subject. 

Is  the  trust,  then,  that  is  "counted  for  righteous- 
ness" anything  higher  than  the  ordinary  trust  of  busi- 
ness and  social  life,  which  possesses  no  moral,  loyal, 
or  spiritual  element?     It  is.     How  do  we  know  this? 

Before  answering,  let  us  say  that  most  minds  in- 
stinctively feel  that  it  is  so.  They  recognize  it  at  a 
glance.  They  simply  see  more  in  the  word  than  that. 
They  reach  the  conclusion  through  a  lightning-like 
flash  of  intelligence,  which  they  may  not  be  able» 
fully  to  explain.  They  are  conscious  of  something 
in  the  situation,  or  in  the  subject — vaguely  seen — that 
sheds  a  new  glory  of  meaning  on  the  word.  The  mind  is 
correct  in  this  intuition;  and  it  is  only  necessary,  for 
purposes  of  argument,  to  draw  out  this  shadowy  per- 
ception into  clear  apprehension,  and  follow  the  pro- 
cess of  word-glorification  in  its  successive  stages. 

We  have  here  simply  to  do  with  a  fundamental  law 
of  language,  and  in  a  case  that  is  paralleled  by  thou- 
sands of  similar  ones  in  every  tongue.  Definitely 
stated,  it  is  this:  When  the  action  of  a  verb  terminates 
on  an  object,  or  takes  place  under  conditions,  whose 
nature  is  such  as  to  make  part  of  the  meaniiig  of  the 
verb  inapplicable,  the  verb  loses  such  part  of  its  meaning 
in  that  case;  and,  when  the  action  of  a  verb  terminates 
on  an  object,  or  takes  place  under  conditivus,  whose 
nature  requires  a  modification  or  increase  or  the  ordi- 
nary meaning  of  the  verb,  it  undergoes  such  modifica- 

176 


THE   NATURE   OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

Hon  or  takes  on  such  additional  meaning.  Mutatis 
mutandis,  the  law  is  applicable  also  to  other  parts  of 
speech;  and  the  correctness  of  the  principle  maybe 
verified  by  referring  to  any  work  on  the  structure  and 
growth  of  language.  For  our  present  purpose,  a  few 
illustrations  will  serve  best. 

To  love  a  sweetheart  and  to  love  a  friend,  are  not 
acts  of  precisely  the  same  character.  The  love  of 
David  and  Jonathan  was  not  the  love  of  the  sexes, 
and  could  by  no  possibility  be  such,  simply  because 
they  were  both  men — because  of  the  nature  of  the 
object  toward  which  the  feeling  was  directed. 

If,  now,  we  apply  love  to  another  object — to  an 
enemy — the  change  of  meaning  which  the  word 
undergoes  amounts  almost  to  a  revolution.  A  large 
part  of  the  meaning  of  love  is  instantly  stricken  out. 
The  complacency,  present  in  most  of  its  other  forms, 
and  the  affinity  so  prominent  in  friendship,  are  wholly 
eliminated,  while  another  element  of  love  rises  into 
sublime  prominence — an  element  which,  in  some  of 
its  other  forms,  is  almost  wholly  absent.  So  vast  is 
the  difference  between  the  meaning  of  the  word  in 
this  case,  and  that  which  it  possesses  in  most  other 
cases,  that  many  who  can  love  passionately  a  member 
of  the  other  sex,  or  a  friend,  are  wholly  incapable  of 
loving  an  enemy.*  This  change  of  meaning  all  re- 
sults from  the  character  of  the  object  toward  which 
the  feeling  is  directed. 


*  So  true  is  this,  that  some  assert  that  it  is  impossible  to  love 
an  enemy;  that  the  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  stifle  resentment 
and  treat  the  enemy  as  if  we  loved  him.  But  this  is  neither 
Scriptural  teaching  nor  good  psychology.  A.bsalom  was  David's 
enemy,  yet  David  loved  him  with  a  yearning  and  passionate 
affection  What  is  true  of  parental  love  can  be  shown  to  be  true 
of  at  least  one  other  kind  of  love — the  Christian. 
12  177 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

Let  love  terminate  on  still  another  object — God — 
and  we  shall  have  still  a  different  meaning  of  the 
word.  Here  the  change  consists,  not  so  much  in  the 
elimination  of  certain  of  its  ordinary  meanings,  as 
in  the  addition  of  new  ones.  The  word  now  em- 
braces within  its  import  both  gratitude  and  reverence. 
Neither  of  these  meanings  belongs  to  the  other  three 
forms  of  love  to  which  we  have  referred,  and  yet, 
when  love  is  directed  toward  God,  these  qualities  im- 
mediately spring  into  it — the  reverence  because  of  his 
character,  and  the  gratitude  because  of  his  benefac- 
tions. 

Let  us  take  another  example,  the  verb  to  call  on. 
To  call  on  a  waiter  is  to  summon  him  to  service;  to 
call  on  an  acquaintance  is  to  make  a  short  visit;  to 
call  on  God  is  to  pray,  or  invoke  his  blessing.  So  of 
the  word /ear.  To  fear  an  enemy  or  a*wild  beast,  is 
to  be  afraid  of  him;  to  fear  God,  is  to  reverence  him. 
Thus  words  are  like  chameleons,  changing  their  hue 
with  the  object  on  which  they  rest,  and  yet  retaining 
an  identity  in  change. 

This  list  need  not  be  extended.  Such  examples 
may  be  found  on  almost  every  page  of  any  dictionary. 
We  have  in  these  cases  an  illustration  of  one  of  the 
fundamental  laws  of  language.  To  strike  this  princi- 
ple of  modification  out  of  language  would  be  well- 
nigh  to  strike  the  human  race  dumb. 

The  mind  usually  reaches  these  new  or  modified 
meanings  by  a  simple  glance  of  intelligence,  without 
reasoning  them  out;  but  should  any  one  be  disposed 
to  deny  that  in  loving  a  sweetheart  the  feeling  is  dif- 
ferent from  that  exercised  in  loving  an  enemy  or  in 
loving  God,  we  should  be  compelled  to  show,  by  care- 
ful examination  of  the  conditions    under  which  the 

178 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

act  takes  place,   that  the  feelings  in  these   different 
cases  can  not  possibly  be  the  same. 

This  is  what  we  must  now  do  with  respect  to  trust. 
Our  task  is  to  show  that  the  object  on  which  it  ter- 
minates, or  the  conditions  under  which  it  takes  place 
in  conversion,  make  it  impossible  that  it  have  simpl}' 
the  lower  meaning  of  business  life.  We  have,  more- 
over, in  these  conditions,  the  means  of  showing  not 
only  what  it  cannot  be,  but  exactly  what  it  is,  and  of 
vindicating  the  flash  of  intuitive  perception  which 
sees  in  it  a  high  and  holy  meaning. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  lowest  meaning  of  the  word, 
that  we  may  build  our  definition  up  from  the  founda- 
tion. 

Suppose  we  tell  a  man  that  if  he  will  only  accept 
Christ's  redemptive  work  and  intrust  to  him  the  task 
jof  procuring  for  him  the  remission  of  sins  and  an  ad- 
mission into  the  divine  favor,  the  work  shall  be  ac- 
complished. The  man  replies  that  he  would  certainly 
rather  enjoy  the  divine  favor  than  rest  under  the 
divine  condemnation,  and  that,  as  he  has  come  to 
regard  Jesus  as  a  divine  Being,  he  could  trust  him  to 
procure  that  favor  for  him  as  easilj  as  he  could  trust 
a  faithful  clerk  with  a  matter  of  business.  But  there 
is  something  about  the  proposition  that  causes  hi  in  to 
hesitate,  and  he  finally  asks  this  question:  "Will 
anything  else  be  required  of  me  after  this  justifica- 
tion?" ''O  yes,"  we  tell  him,  *'just  beyond  this 
there  stands  a  cross  on  which  you  are  to  be  crucified ; 
your  present  self  is  to  be  slain.  The  world-life,  to 
which  you  cling  so  fondly,  is  to  be  abandoned.  You 
are  to  take  Christ  as  your  master,  and  devote  your- 
self to  a  life  of  holy  consecration.  You  are  to  bear 
his  cross,  and  this  new  life  may  bring  you  into  many 

179 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

troubles.  You  may  meet  with  strong  opposition  and 
suffer  the  loss  of  every  worldly  good,  and  even  be  re- 
quired to  suffer  martyrdom  for  Christ's  sake." 

It  is  plain  that  the  man  regards  this  as  a  very 
serious  matter.  He,  however,  says  that  he  would  like 
to  ask  us  one  further  question :  "Suppose  I  do  not 
do  these  things,  will  my  justification  save  me  in  the 
end?"  "Oh,  no,"  we  tell  him,  "it  is  only  those  who, 
by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for  glory, 
honor  and  immortality  that  shall  inherit  eternal 
life."  And  then  we  tell  him  of  the  judgment  scene, 
described  by  Christ  (Mt.  xxv.  31-46),  where  the  vast 
multitude  who  stand  before  the  Judge  are  divided 
into  two  companies,  the  one  upon  the  right  and  the 
other  upon  the  left;  and  that,  as  soon  as  the  Judge 
speaks,  we  learn  that  both  companies  are  believers^ 
and  are  equally  trustiiig  Christ  for  salvation,  and  that 
their  acceptance  or  rejection  depends  on  loyal,  loving 
devotion  to  him,  betraying  itself  in  deeds  of  love  to 
the  humblest  of  his  people;  and  that  the  vast  com- 
pany on  the  left,  though  they  had  trusted  in  him  for 
salvation,  are,  for  lack  of  this  devotion,  sent  away 
into  punishment. 

The  man  is  very  serious  and,  after  a  period  of 
silence,  says:  "I  do  not  see  that  my  justification 
would  do  me  very  much  good,  without  a  holy  life  to 
follow  it." 

Now,  it  will  be  impossible  for  this  man  to  consider 

and  decide  this  question  of  his  justification,  and  shut 

out  of  view  that  which  is  to  follow;  and,  in  reaching 

his   decision,   the    stress   of    motive  will   lie   almost 

exclusively  at  this  point.     Although  we  presented  the 

question  to  him  without  mentioning  that  which  was 

to  follow,  he  has  been  unwilling  to  decide  it  without 

180 


THE  NATURE   OF  JUSTIFYING  FAITH 

knowing  all;  and  when  he  makes  his  decision,  it  will 
be  in  view  of  that  all.  If  he  is  wedded  to  the  worldly 
life,  he  will  no  more  take  the  justification  with  the 
cross  in  sight,  than  a  fish  will  take  the  bait  with  the 
hook  in  view.  In  vain  do  we  spread  the  snare  in  the 
presence  of  the  bird.  And,  even  if  this  man  should 
feel  inclined  to  take  such  a  useless  justification,  he 
would  reflect  that,  by  practicing  such  a  deliberate 
imposition  on  Christ,  he  would  but  incur  a  deeper 
condemnation.  He  will  have  nothing  of  the  justifi- 
cation until  he  is  ready  to  accept  the  holy  life;  and 
when  he  accepts  Christ,  trusting  in  him  for  justifica- 
tion, that  act  toill  contain  within  itself  the  7nental 
acceptance  of  the  life  of  consecration  and  obedience. 
In  other  words,  his  acceptance  of  Christ  will  contain 
within  itself  both  a  moral  and  a  loyal  element: 
moral  because  accepting  a  life  of  righteousness,  loyal 
because  accepting  a  life  of  obedience. 

When  the  act  of  trust  falls  on  a  being  presenting 
a  character  like  that  of  Christ,  and  making  such 
demands,  and  presenting  such  alternatives,  the  trust 
instantly,  and  by  a  law  of  necessity,  is  transformed 
into  a  moral,  loyal  trust.  It  is  of  the  very  nature  of 
the  gospel  to  stir  the  moral  nature  to  its  profoundest 
depths;  and  it  results  from  this  that  any  normal 
response  which  the  soul  may  make  to  it  must  be  both 
moral  and  loyal. 

That  men  will  not  accept  Christ  as  an  object  of 
trust  until  they  can  do  it  morally  and  loyally,  is  forci- 
bly declared  by  Christ  himself  in  Jn.  iii.  18, 19,  where 
he  says:  *'He  that  believeth  on  him  [the  Son]  is  not 
condemned;  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  on  the  name  of 

the  only  begotten   Son  of  God.     And  this  is  the  con- 

181 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

demnation,  that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and 
men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  were  evil."  It  is  here  declared  that  the  man 
who  is  clinging  to  an  evil  life  will  not  believe  on 
Christ — will  not  accept  him  in  any  sense — even  as  an 
object  of  trust.  It  is  contrary  to  nature  that  he 
should  do  so.  Christ  has  for  him  a  strong  repellency, 
causing  him  to  turn  from  him  and  flee  into  the  wel- 
come darkness. 

And  here  we  have  the  answer  to  the  oft-made 
criticism  of  skeptics,  that  the  Scriptures  condemn 
men  for  not  believing,  when  their  belief  or  unbelief 
is  a  matter  beyond  their  control.  Of  no  such  unbelief 
is  condemnation  ever  asserted.  For  the  man  who,  in 
sincere  loyalty  to  duty  and  truth,  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  righteousness,  seeks  to  know  the  truth 
that  he  may  honor  it  by  obedience,  the  Scriptures 
have  no  word  but  blessing,  and  his  doubts  and  mis- 
givings call  forth  only  the  divine  sympathy  and  help. 
But  such  has  not  been  the  natural  history  of  the 
world's  unbelief.  Its  great  fault  with  Christ  has 
generally  been,  in  every  age,  that  he  demanded  right- 
eousness and  purity  of  heart,  the  death  of  selfish- 
ness; and  it  is  simply  because  faith  in  him  contains 
a  moral  element  that  disbelief  merits  and  receives 
condemnation.  If  faith  contain  no  such  element,  the 
condemnation  of  unbelief  is  an  act  of  pure  injustice 
on  the  part  of  God,  which  no  gloss  can  hide. 

Having  discovered  that  this  faith  in  Christ  is,  and 
must  of  necessity  be,  an  act  of  moral,  loyal  trust,  we 
are  prepared  to  observe  another  thing  regarding  it. 
If  any  man  is  deterred  from  thus  loyally  accepting 
Christ  by  his  attachment  to  a  life  of  sin,  something 

else   must  happen  before  this  loyal  commitment  to 

182 


THE   NATURE   OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

Christ  can  take  place.  AVhat  is  this  something? 
Repentance.  Repentance  must,  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  precede  an  act  of  trust  like  this.  The 
loyalty  of  faith  is  forged  in  the  furnace  of  repent- 
ance.* 

Paul  recognized  this  order,  for  he  declared  to  the 
elders  of  the  church  at  Ephesus,  that  it  had  been  his 
practice  to  testify  *'both  to  Jews  and  to  Greeks  re- 
pentance toward  God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  The  order  of  words  in  a  single  case,  it  is 
true,  does  Dot  absolutely  determine  the  order  of 
occurrence;  but,  when  we  reflect  that  this  is  the 
uniform  order  in  the  New  Testament,  this  order  of 
sequence  in  expression  can  hardly  be  regarded  as 
accidental. 

But  the  fact  that  this  faith  in  Christ  needs  to  be 
preceded  by  repentance  has  been  divinely  recognized 
in  even  a  more  striking  way.  It  formed  one  of  the 
underlying  principles  of  the  divine  statesmanship. 
John  the  Baptist  was  sent  as  a  forerunner  to  pre- 
pare the  people  of  Israel  for  the  acceptance  of 
Christ,  by  bringing  them  to  repentance.  Repent- 
ance toward  God,  then  faith  in  Christ,  was  the  true 
order  as  it  lay  in  the  divine  Mind;  and  this  is 
the  true  significance  of  the  mission  of  tlohn.  His 
mission  was  to  turn  the  people  to  repentance,  and  his 
baptism  was  a  "baptism  of  repentance. "t  Nor  was 
this  preparation  for  faith,  by  repentance,  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  simple  belief  of  the  understanding.  So 
to    hold   would   be   to    impeach   the   divine   wisdom, 


*  See  Appendix  A.,   p.  441. 

fPaul  understood  John's  mission — his  "baptism  of  repentance" 
— as  looking  directly  forward  to  faith  in  Christ  (Acts  xix,  4). 
Repentance  was  regarded  as  a  needed  preparation  for  this  faith. 

183 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

since  a  sufficient  display  of  the  miraculous  would 
have  speedily  commanded  the  conviction  of  every 
mind  in  the  nation.  The  question  with  which  God 
is  grappling  is  a  moral  one.  Faith  in  Christ  is  a 
moral  act,  and  God  is  here  preparing  the  people  for 
it  by  bringing  them  to  repentance. 

This  was  not  only  God's  view  of  the  matter;  it  was 
also  Christ's.  When  he  began  to  preach,  his  burden 
to  the  people  was:  "Repent  ye,  and  believe  (in  faith 
resign  yourself  unto*)  the  gospel"  (Mk.  i.  15).  He 
wanted  no  faith  short  of  that  great  morale  loyal  trust 
which  follows  repentance. 

Thus  we  discover  that  what  we  have  seen  must  be 
true  regarding  this  trust  which  arises  in  an  acceptance 
of  Christ  as  Savior,  is  so  recognized  both  by  the 
language  of  Scripture  and  by  the  methods  of  the 
divine  procedure. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  take  another  step.  The 
ruling  principle  of  the  Christian  life  is  Love.  With- 
out this,  Paul  declares  the  Christian  character  value- 
less. It  is  the  vital  element  in  faith  and  that  power 
by  virtue  of  which  it  works  (Gal.  v.  6).  When  faith 
loses  its  love,  it  is  already  stricken  with  paralysis;  it 
can  no  longer  act.  There  are  two  great  motive  forces 
which  may  lie  behind  action — selfishness  and  love. 
Mere  trust  itself  cannot  act.  Trust  may  work  by 
either  selfishness  or  love.  In  the  business  world  it 
works  by  selfishness;  but  a  faith  whose  motive  of 
action  is  no  higher  than  this  is  not  acceptable  to 
Christ. 

Now,  how  does  this  love  come  into  being?  In  his 
first  epistle  (ch.  iv.  19),  John  tells  us  that,  "We  love, 

*So  Winer  defines  it  in  his  Grammar  of  New  Testament  Greek. 
§31,  5.    Compare  also  Mt.  xxi.  32. 

184 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

because  He  first  loved  us."  This  is  the  great  law 
of  love-iTiaking  the  world  over.  Now,  when  does 
Christ's  love  become  operative  with  the  sinner?  The 
very  moment  he  comes  to  regard  him  as  the  Son  of 
God.  Then  the  advent  of  Christ  into  the  world 
becomes  in  his  sight  a  divine  incarnation,  and  the 
sufferings  of  Calvary  become  the  throes  of  the  divine 
heart  for  a  wandering  son.  Now,  like  a  flood  of  sun- 
shine, the  whole  vision  of  the  Father's  yearning  and 
suffering  love  bursts  upon  him;  and  this  may  touch 
his  heart  and  form  one  of  his  earliest  motives  to 
repentance.  But,  if  not,  can  his  spirit,  as  the  work 
of  conversion  proceeds,  grow  mellow  in  repentance 
and,  under  this  flood  of  divine  tenderness,  be  quick- 
ened to  no  responsive  affection?  If  it  be  so,  what 
hope  that  he  will  ever  be  moved  under  the  continued 
action  of  the  same  influence?  It  must  be  so,  and  it 
will  be  so,  under  all  normal  action  of  the  gospel;  and, 
when  tiie  soul  commits  itself  to  Christ  in  loyal  trust, 
it  will  be  also  with  a  warm  heart.  The  commitment 
will  be  a  loving  commitment.  It  will  be  an  act  of  the 
heart.  It  must  be  so.  Under  the  divine  compulsion 
of  the  cross  it  becomes  inevitably  so.  When  trust 
falls  on  such  an  object,  it  throbs  with  emotion.  Dr. 
Chas.  Hodge,  in  view  of  this  principle,  says:  "When 
moral  or  religious  truth  is  its  [faith's]  object,  it  is 
always  attended  by  the  exercise  of  the  affections."* 
A  cold  conversion  is  a  misnomer;   a  heartless  faith  is 


*  It  would,  however,  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  this  affection 
is  the  ripened  and  expanded  love  of  the  mature  Christian  life. 
It  is  gratitude  and  affection  toward  6>;/^  Being, — Christ,  and  God 
in  Christ, — a  germ  which  contains  the  promise  and  potency  of 
all  that  is  to  follow.  It  is  the  one  sweet  note  which  is  at  length 
to  swell  into  the  full  diapason  of  love  to  all  men,  including  even 
the  enemy — that  music  of  the  soul  which  is  called  righteousness. 

185 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

a  monstrosity.  It  is  a  miscarriage  of  the  converting 
forces  of  the  gospel. 

Such  is  our  reasoning,  founded  on  the  nature  of 
the  object  on  which,  and  the  conditions  under  which, 
this  trust  takes  place,  as  presented  in  the  gospel.  Is 
this  reasoning  correct?  Let  us  submit  it  to  the  stern 
test  of  fact,  that  we  may,  if  possible,  detect  any  flaw 
in  its  linked  certainty. 

How  do  men  accept  Christ  under  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel?  Do  they  receive  him  selfishly,  as  a  mere 
object  of  trust;  without  loyalty,  without  repentance, 
without  feeling?  Go  into  a  revival,  and  see.  Such 
bare,  bald  faith  has  no  existence  in  actual  life,  under 
the  true  preaching  of  the  gospel.  The  conversions  of 
nearly  nineteen  centuries  have  laid  their  seal  on  the 
nature  of  that  faith  which  is  actually  being  counted 
for  righteousness.  Like  the  voice  of  many  waters, 
the  sublime  answer  comes  to  us  from  all  the  Christian 
ages,  that  the  convert's  trust  in  Christ  is  morale  loyal 
and  loving.  The  vision  of  Christ  always  lays  this  holy 
spell  upon  the  heart;  and,  when  the  soul  springs  to 
meet  him  in  faith,  its  trust  is  always  this  beautiful 
thing,  fragrant  with  the  very  spirit  of  holiness..  It  is 
the  most  beautiful  thing  in  the  world. 

Let  u*s  now  be  careful  to  note  that  it  is  the  accept- 
ance of  Christ  as  an  object  of  trust,  that  contains 
7oitInn  itself  all  these  elements.  They  do  not  belong 
to  something  else,  but  are  qualities  belonging  to  this 
one  act.  We  do  not  accept  Christ  as  an  object  of 
trust,  and  then  accept  him  as  an  object  of  loyalty,  and 
then,  by  a  third  act,  accept  the  holy  life  which  he 
requires  us  to  undertake.  The  acceptance  of  Christ 
is  one   act  carrying  loithin  itself  all  these  elements. 

That  the  acceptance  of  Christ  as  an  object  of  trust 

186 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITH 

is  a  monil,  loyal,  loving  act,  is  therefore  overwhelm- 
ingly proved,  both  by  the  nature  of  the  conditions 
under  which  it  takes  place,  and  by  the  almost  infinite 
experience  of  nearly  nineteen  centuries. 

Before  proceeding  further,  let  us  pause  here  to 
notice  a  matter  which  cannot  be  so  well-considered 
elsewhere:  Some  theologians  have  felt  it  necessary 
to  make  faith  consist  of  bare  trust,  excluding  any 
moral  or  loyal  element,  lest  such  elements  should 
conflict  wnth  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace.  But 
theologians  have  as  little  to  do  with  determining 
what  faith  shall  be  as  Canute  had  in  commanding  the 
waves  of  the  sea.  It  is  not  even  a  question  of  Scrip- 
ture interpretation.  Trust  in  Christ  has  been  just 
this  moral,  lo3al,  loving  thing  for  nearly  nineteen 
centuries,  and  it  will  continue  to  be  exactly  this  for- 
ever. He  who  would  change  it  has  a  graver  task 
before  him  than  that  of  manipulating  Scripture 
statements.  He  must  change  either  the  nature  of 
the  human  mind  or  the  motive  forces  of  the  gospel. 
Erase  the  word  faith  from  the  Bible,  but  let  the 
moral  and  spiritual  forces  of  the  gospel  play  upon 
the  human  soul,  and  this  beautiful  flower  will  blos- 
som there  just  the  same.  The  woman  that  was  a 
sinner  was  not  commanded  to  kneel  and  weep  and 
kiss  the  feet  of  the  Master;  she  could  not  help  it.  If 
Paul  had  failed  to  see  that  faith  possessed  these 
characteristics,  it  would  have  made  no  difference 
regarding  the  thing,  provided  the  forces  that  bring 
it  into  existence  were  present.  Gravitation  existed 
before  Newton  discoved  it.  We  are  now  dealing 
simply  with  a  question  of  fact-,  which  lies  directly 
under  our  eye,  and  which  we  are  entirely  competent 

to  observe.     Later,  it  will  be  in  place  to  inquire  what 

187 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  inspired  writers  think  about  it.  We  can  see  the 
sun  in  the  heavens  and  tell  its  shape,  without  any 
help;  we  can  see  personal  trust  in  Christ,  and  tell 
what  it  must  be,  and  what  it  is,  without  any  help. 
The  tides  of  the  ocean  rise  to  the  level  they  reach, 
not  because  of  any  command,  but  by  the  attraction  of 
the  sun  and  moon ;  trust  in  Christ  rises  to  the  moral 
and  spiritual  level  it  reaches,  not  simply  because  the 
Scriptures  demand  that  it  shall,  but  by  the  attraction 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  It  is  a  question  of 
spiritual  physics;  it  is  a  proper  subject  of  scientific 
observation  and  demonstration.  Stand,  if  you  will, 
on  the  shore  of  the  human  heart;  fling  adverse  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture  in  its  way;  bid  it  come  "thus 
far  and  no  farther" — and  its  waves  will  roll  over  you, 
and  the  tide  of  trust  will  stay  not  till  it  registers 
loyalty  and  love,  under  the  divine  gravitation  of  the 
Son  of  Grod. 

If  the  doctrine  of  grace  can  make  no  room  for 
a  trust  like  this,  it  must  go  in  pieces  on  this  rock, 
for  you  cannot  change  this.  While  human  nature 
remains  what  it  is,  and  gospel  motives  remain  what 
they  are,  personal  trust  in  Christ  will  continue  to  be 
just  this. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  such  a  faith  is  in  any  way 

I:.^iConsisteiit  with  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace, 

cr  favor.     Let  man  do  his  best,  and  he  can  do  little 

more    than    try    to    be    righteous — little   more   than 

^'hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness."     After  all, 

he   does  but  cling  to   the  strength  of  another,    and 

open  his  heart,  that  the  righteousness  of  another  may 

take  place  in  him.     And  this  very   receptiveness   is 

only  possible  to  a  moral,  loyal,  loving  trust.    There  is 

no  moral  or  spiritual  receptiveness  in   a  bald,  selfish 

188 


THE   NATURE    OF    JUSTIFYINd    FAITH 

trust.  It  leaves  the  door  of  the  heart  still  shut 
against  God.  It  can  have  no  value  beyond  that  of  a 
speculative  plaything. 

It  is  further  to  be  considered  that,  should  we  suc- 
ceed in  evacuating  faith  of  any  moral  worth,  we 
should  not  thereby  escape  the  supposed  difficulty, 
since  remission  of  sins  (justification)  is  clearly  madc^ 
conditional  on  vepeMance  in  Acts  ii.  38,  and  repen- 
tance is  a  moral  act. 

%3.  Other  Conditions  Deterniining  the  Nature  of 
this  Faith. 

We  have  seen  that  Christian  faith  is  trust;  that  it 
begins  in  an  act  of  the  will;  that  it  is  preceded  by 
repentance,  and  is  therefore  moral;  that  it  is  loyal; 
and  that  it  is  loving — that  it  is  a  moral,  loyal,  loving 
acceptance  of  Christ.  Faith  gains  all  these  charac- 
teristics from  the  object  on  which  it  rests  and  the 
conditions  under  which  it  takes  place.  It  becomes 
such  under  laws  of  spiritual  causation.  But  we  have 
not  yet  explored  all  the  shaping  influences  which 
determine  the  character  of  this  faith. 

We  have  seen  that  this  faith,  or  trust,  has  its 
beginning  in  an  act  of  acceptance.  But  acceptance  is 
a  relative  act,  and  is  conditioned  by  some  antecedent 
proffer.  We  can  never  accept  what  is  not  offered. 
Should  we  come  into  possession  of  any  ol>ject  which 
has  not  been  offered,  it  would  not  be  through  accep- 
tance. The  acceptance  which  forms  a  constituent 
element  in  faith  is,  accordingly,  an  act  in  response  to 
a  divine  proffer.  This  opens  up  a  vast  realm  of 
modifying  influences  which  may  tend  still  further  to 
shape  the  character  of  Christian  faith.  We  shall 
best  understand  this  by  considering  a  few  illustra- 
tions. 

189 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

A  gentleman,  meeting  a  lady  with  whom  he  is 
acquainted,  in  a  railway  station,  offers  to  procure 
her  ticket  for  her  and  look  after  her  baggage,  and  she 
cordially  accepts  his  offer.  Here  the  offer  is  to  do 
some  trifling  service,  and  the  acceptance  embraces 
this  and  no  more,  and  there  the  incident  closes.  Some 
time  after,  on  visiting  her  at  her  home,  he  hands  her 
a  beautiful  present,  and  says,  "Will  you  accept  this?" 
The  object  is  something  which  she  greatly  desires  to 
possess,  but  she  may  hesitate,  or  refuse.  She  feels 
that  the  proffer  means  more  this  time  than  before, 
and  that  the  acceptance  will  iavolve  all  that  the 
proffer  implies.  She  realizes  that  the  import  of  an 
acceptance  is  as  extensive  as  that  of  the  offer,  and 
takes  its  color  and  character  from  it,  and  she  may 
decline  the  gift.  But  if  she  does  decide  to  accept  it, 
let  us  notice  that  she  will  not  accept  it  in  the  same 
marine}'  as  she  accepted  the  trifling  service  on  the 
former  occasion.  The  gentlemen  is  holding  out  his 
hand  toward  her  with  the  gift,  and  if  she  accepts  it 
she  will  not  simply  permit  him  to  do  something  for 
her,  but  will  reach  forth  her  hand  and  take  it.  The 
conditions  of  the  proffer  are  this  time  such  that 
acceptance  is  not  simply  passive  acquiescence,  but  a 
tahing.  On  another  occasion  the  gentleman  visits  her 
and  makes  a  very  different  proffer — the  proffer  of 
himself.  He  asks  that  she  will  accept  him  as  her 
husband.  If  she  accepts  this  offer  it  will  not  be  a 
mere  incident  soon  past,  but  will  involve  her  life- 
long destiny,  and  to  a  greater  degree  than  any  other 
acceptance  can.  She  will  not  accept  this  offer  until 
she  is  ready  to  grant  all,  and  then  she  will  accept 
the  offer  with  all  that   it  involves.     Let  us  observe 

further  that  if  she  does  decide  to  accept,  there  will 

190 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING   FAITJI 

be  two  acceptances — one  which  is  called  consent,  or 
engagement,  and  one  which  is  called  a  taking,  or 
marriage.  In  the  first  acceptance  she  does  not  accept 
the  man  as  her  husband,  but  accepts  his  proposal  that 
she  take  him  as  her  husband  at  some  future  time. 
The  one  acceptance  is  simply  the  promise  of  the 
other;  the  engagement  is  the  promise  of  marriage;  it 
is  a  step  preparatory  to  the  taking  by  the  parties  of 
each  other  as  husband  and  wife.  Let  us  further 
notice  that  this  great  acceptance  which  is  of  the 
nature  of  a  taking  constitutes  an  abiding  relation, 
which,  on  account  of  its  closeness  and  intimacy,  is 
called  union  (^one-ion),  and  the  man  and  wife  are  said 
to  be  one.  Now,  the  gentleman's  proposal  was,  that 
she  receive  him  in  this  intimate  relation,  and  when 
she  so  accepts  him  under  proper  conditions,  that 
ACCEPTANCE  constitutes  the  union.  On  a  former 
occasion  the  gentleman  offered  her  a  present,  but 
this  offer  did  not  make  the  object  hers  until  she 
completed  the  transaction  by  taking  it.  He  now 
offers  himself  as  her  husband;  and  when  she  takes 
him  as  such,  he  becomes  her  hiisband,  and  this  her 
acceptance,  or  taking,  consummates  the  union  which 
is  called  marriage.  The  proper  conditions  being 
present,  the  woman,  by  accepting,  or  taking  this  man 
as  her  husband,  enters  into  union  with  him.  Here, 
then,  is  an  acceptance  which  constitutes  a  relation, 
and  that  relation  a  union. 

Now,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  divine  proffer? 
Not  simply  on  certain  conditions  to  remit  our  sins, 
but  that  we  shall  enter  into  union  with  Christ,  so 
that  we  shall  be  *'in  him"  and  he  "in  us."  The  re- 
lation contemplated  is  even  closer  than  that  of  mar- 
riage, and  no  less  tender;  and  remission  of  sins  is  not 

191 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

offered  apart  from  this  relation,  but  through  it.  If 
we  accept  the  divine  proffer  we  shall  accept  all  this, 
for  it  is  all  embraced  in  the  offer.  But  as  the  accept- 
ance of  marriage  is  not  a  passive  acquiescence,  but  an 
active  taking,  so  the  acceptance  of  Christ,  which  is 
also  the  acceptance  of  a  person, — not  a  passive  recep- 
tion of  some  benefit  at  his  hands, — is  sl  taking  of  Christ 
as  our  Savior,  and  in  the  holy  relation  of  life-union 
with  him.  When  Christ  makes  this  proffer  he  does 
his  part  preparatory  to  entering  into  union  with  us; 
when  we  accept  him,  or  take  him  in  this  relation, 
under  proper  conditions,  we  enter  into  union  with 
him.  But  we  have  seen  that  the  faith  that  is  reck- 
oned for  righteousness  begins  in  an  act  of  the  will, 
and  that  act  an  acceptance;  and  as  there  can  be  no 
acceptance  of  anything  that  js  not  offered,  and  as 
the  gospel  offers  none  of  its  blessings  except  "in 
Christ,"  it  follows  that  this  faith  must  be  an  accept- 
ance of  Christ  in  this  relation  of  union,  or  in  other 
words,  the  convert's  mental  act  of  entering  into  union 
with  Christ.  We  must  be  careful,  however,  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  two  stages  of  trust — that  of  re- 
pentance, and  that  which  follows  repentance.  When, 
in  repentance  the  sinner  resolves  to  take  Christ  as  his 
Savior,  a  species  of  anticipative  trust  arises,  but  this 
is  not  appropriative.  No  mere  resolve  appropriates 
anything.  But  when  the  penitent  turns  his  mind 
toward  Christ,  and  in  a  welcoming  act,  under  proper 
conditions,  definitely  receives  him  into  the  life, — an 
act  which  is  not  simply  determinative  but  social  in 
nature, — he  appropriates  Christ  and  enters  into  union 
with  him.  He  then,  for  the  first  time,  trusts  him  as 
his  Savior.     His  trust  is  practical  and  possessive. 

Faith   in   Christ   is,    therefore,    not   only  a   moral, 

192 


THE   NATURE    OF   JUSTIFYING    FAITH 

loyal,  loving  acceptance  of  Christ,  but  the  spiritual 
act  of  entering  into  union  with  him.  It  is  by  its  very 
nature  such  a  spiritual  act,  and  the  only  one  by  which 
we  can  enter  into  union  with  Christ.  There  is  no 
other  step  in  conversion  that  possesses  this  character. 
The  belief  of  the  truth  concerning  Christ  is  not  a 
union-forming  act.  It  may  be  present  in  those  who 
are  at  enmity  with  him.  James  says  "the  devils  be- 
lieve and  tremble."  Repentance,  which  involves  a 
change  of  feeling  and  purpose,  though  it  is  indispen- 
sable and  forms  the  moral  and  sympathetic  basis  for 
union,  is  not  in  itself  union-forming.  Only  the  act  of 
will  that  reaches  forth  and  takes  Christ  as  one's  own 
in  a  carefully-considered,  definite  and  unreserved 
commitment  and  reception,  is  by  nature  union-consti- 
tuting. And  acceptance  of  Christ  becomes  this  from 
the  fact  that  Christ  offers  himself  only  in  this  rela- 
tion. Let  it  be  granted  only  that  faith  is  trust,  and 
the  conditions  under  which  it  takes  place  in  Chris- 
tianity cause  it  to  be  not  only  a  moral,  loyal,  loving 
acceptance  of  Christ,  but  the  act  of  entering  into 
union  with  him.  We  do  not  now  pause  to  inquire 
what  the  Scriptures  teach  on  this  subject,  but  simply 
note  what  mast  be  through  the  operation  of  spiritual 
laws. 

But  there  is  another  element  in  the  situation  which 
gives  its  color  to  the  act  of  acceptance  of  Christ  and 
calls  for  a  further  descriptive  designation.  When  we 
take  a  present  from  the  hand  of  another,  or  when  a 
man  and  woman  take  each  other  as  husband  and  wife, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  case  that  calls  for  strenuous 
effort,  and  the  word  tahe  sufficiently  describes  the 
act;    but   when    men    enter   into    union   with  Christ, 

they  take  him  as  their  Savior  from  evils  from  which 
13  193 


MORAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

they  struggle  to  be  freed  with  extreme  difficulty,  and 
which  make  the  taking  of  Christ  a  matter  of  strenu- 
ous spiritual  effort.  When,  therefore,  we  have  in 
view  this  aspect  of  the  act,  we  most  fitly  speak  of  it 
as  a  laying  hold  on  Christ,  and  its  continuance  as  a 
dinging  to  him.  The  particular  conditions  under 
which  it  takes  place  cause  it  to  be  not  simply  an  ac- 
ceptance, but  a  strenuous  grasping  and  clinging  of  the 
soul,  as  one  being  saved  from  great  perils;  but  as  the 
connection  thus  formed  is  intimate  and  life-lasting, 
it  is  also  a  union. 

There  is  another  aspect  of  the  case  also  which  calls 
for  a  stronger  designation  than  the  mere  word  accept- 
ance. We  may  accept  things  from  our  equals  or 
inferiors,  and  under  conditions  of  no  prior  obligation, 
but  the  conditions  here  are  such  as  largely  to  change 
the  color  of  acceptance.  God  has  been  our  rightful 
ruler,  and  in  our  sinful  life  we  have  disregarded  his 
claims.  His  proffer  of  salvation  is  on  condition  that 
we  submit  to  his  will.  This  will  cause  our  accept- 
ance to  be  a  surrender — an  acceptance  of  the  divine 
authority  together  with  the  divine  blessing.  But 
even  this  does  not  fully  describe  the  situation;  for 
the  thing  to  be  done  is  not  simply  to  transform  us 
into  loyal  subjects.  We  are  the  victims  of  a  great 
helplessness  and  cannot  save  ourselves.  Our  only 
hope  is  to  put  ourselves  into  the  hands  of  another, 
who  must  do  the  saving,  and  obediently  to  co-operate 
with  him  in  his  efforts.  But  this  complete  commit- 
ment is  most  fitly  described  as  self-surrender.  This, 
with  its  double  aspect  of  submission  to  authority  and 
self-commitment  for  salvation,  is  the  most  adequate 
designation  of  the  acceptance  of  faith.  Any  accept- 
ance must,  under  such  conditions,  naturally  be  self- 
surrender,  i94 


CHAPTEE  III. 

WHERE   DOES   THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE? 

We  are  now  prepared  to  take  another  step  in  our 
investigation.  We  have  seen  that  trust,  when  taking 
place  under  Christian  conditions,  becomes  a  moral, 
loyal,  loving  acceptance  of  Christ  and  entrance  into 
union  with  him;  or,  to  give  it  other  expression,  it  is 
a  complete  self-surrender  to  and  laying  hold  on 
Christ,  continued  in  a  life-lasting  clinging  to  him. 
But  there  are  still  other  conditions  whose  influence 
on  this  faith  remains  to  be  considered,  and  we  are 
now  prepared  to  ask  in  the  light  of  spiritual  laws  this 
question:  At  what  point  in  the  spiritual  history  will 
this  mental  step  take  place?  This  will  depend  on 
two  things — the  nature  of  the  spiritual  act  itself, 
and  the  conditions  under  which  it  takes  place. 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  distinguish  this  mental 
act  from  two  other  mental  acts  which  are  also  called 
faith,  and  which  resemble  it  in  some  respects. 

When  conclusive  proof  of  any  fact  is  presented  to 
the  mind,  belief  follows  immediately  and  involun- 
tarily. True,  a  certain  bias  of  feeling  may  some- 
times interfere  with  belief,  especially  if  the  evidence 
be  not  very  strong;  but,  if  the  mind  believes  at  all, 
it  will  believe  immediately.  It  cannot  say  to  itself,  I 
will  not  credit  this  now,  but  will  believe  it  after  the 
lapse  of  thirty  days.  Such  a  mental  procedure  would 
be  impossible.  But  this  belief  is  not  trust,  and  is 
regulated  by  a  different  law  from  that  of  the  faith  we 
are  considering.     There  is,  however,  a  form  of  trust 

which  is  subject  to  the  same  law. 

195 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

A  young  lady  far  away  from  home  is  threatened 
with  a  dire  disaster  which  she  sees  no  way  to  avert. 
She  is  weeping  in  her  room,  when  a  knock  is  heard  at 
the  door,  and  her  father  enters,  and  after  an  affection- 
ate greeting,  leads  ber  to  the  sofa,  takes  her  hand  in 
his,  and  in  strong,  kind  words,  says:  "Daughter,  I 
knosv  all  about  it,  and  I  am  going  to  save  you.  I  have 
taken  the  matter  in  hand  and  it  will  soon  be  all  over. 
Do  not  weep.  It  will  be  all  right.  And  now  while  I 
go  out  for  a  little,  lie  down  and  rest."  A  smile  of  joy 
breaks  through  her  tears,  and  when  the  father  returns 
she  is  sleeping  sweetly.  She  has  trusted;  and  she  did 
it  immediately.  For  her  to  have  said,  ''I  will  go  on 
in  my  despair  for  another  night,  and  then  at  ten 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning  trust  father,"  would  have 
been  impossible.  If  she  trusts  him  at  all,  she  will  do 
so  as  soon  as  the  conditions  of  the  trust  are  pre- 
sented. Here  trust  is  involuntary  and,  by  its  very 
nature,  immediate.  But  all  this  is  very  different  in 
the  case  of  a  trust  that  begins  in  an  act  of  the  will. 

A  man  goes  to  a  physician  to  consult  regarding  an 

ailment  that   is   causing  him   much  trouble.      After 

examifiing    the   case,   the   physician   says,     "Do   you 

drink?" — "Yes." — "Well,  I  can  cure  you  in  a  short 

time  if  you  w^ill  let  liquor  alone,  but  I  will  not  consent 

to  take  your  case  unless  you  do."     The  man  is  very 

much  wedded  to  his  cups,  and  says:   "I  cannot  tell 

what  I  will  do  about  it  to-day.    Perhaps  I  will  see  you 

again."     The  man  is  not  trusting  that  physician  for  a 

cure,  nor  can  he  do  so  till  he  accepts  his  services. 

The  conditions  of  such  a  trust  are  all  before  him;  but 

it  does  not  take  place  immediately,  may  never  take 

place,  or  may  take  place  at  some  future  time.     The 

introduction  of  the  volitional  element  may  affect  the 

196 


WHERE   DOES   THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

question  of  time  in  different  wa}^^,  and  it  is  possible 
for  our  patient  to  say  to  himself,  "I  will  have  one 
more  week  of  carousal,  and  then  I  will  break  off  and 
put  myself  into  the  doctor's  hands";  and  until  the 
week  elapses  and  he  does  so,  he  will  not  be  trusting 
the  doctor  for  a  cure.  Thus  it  is  possible  that  a 
voluntary  faith  may  be  placed  some  time  in  the  future. 
This  is  precisely  what  men  often  do  regarding  Christ. 
They  say,  "I  will  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
time,  and  then  give  myself  up  to  Christ."  Until  they 
do  this,  they  do  not  trust  him  as  their  Savior,  though 
the  conditions  of  such  trust  have  long  been  before 
them.  The  point  for  us  to  note  is,  that  a  voluntary 
trust  may  occupy  various  positions  with  respect  to 
time,  and  just  when  it  will  take  place  may  depend  on 
a  variety  of  conditions. 

We  are  now  prepared  for  the  question,  At  what 
time,  under  the  conditions  as  we  find  them  in  Chris- 
tianity, will  this  acceptance  of  Christ  in  a  relation  of 
life-union  take  place?  We  may  answer  that,  unless 
there  be  some  grave  reasons  which  demand  delay,  it 
will  take  place  immediately  after  repentance.  In 
speaking  of  this  faith  as  an  act  of  union  with  Christ, 
I  have  compared  it  to  the  act  by  which  the  union  of 
marriage  is  consummated ;  but  there  is  one  important 
particular  in  which  the  two  cases  diifer.  There  is 
notiiing  in  conversion  which  corresponds  to  the 
engagement  which  precedes  marriage.  A  man  and 
woman  may  agree  to  take  each  other  as  husband  and 
wife  at  some  designated  time  in  the  future;  and  such 
an  engagement  implies  that  they  shall  live  in  their 
present  state  for  a  certain  period,  and  then  exchange 
it  for  the   marriage  relation;  and  they  are  at  perfect 

liberty   to  do  this.     But  not   so    with   the   Christian 

197 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

convert.  For  the  sinner  to  say,  "Lord,  I  will  sur- 
render myself  to  thee  one  year  from  now,"  would  be 
immoral,  because  it  would  involve  a  determination  ttB 
continue  in  sin  for  another  year.  And  if  Christ  should 
consent  to  such  an  arrangement  his  act  w^ould  also  be 
immoral,  because  it  would  be  granting  the  license  to 
sin.  It  is  not  the  duty  of  a  woman  to  marry  a  certain 
man,  and  therefore  cannot  be  her  duty  to  do  so  at  any 
particular  time;  it  is  the  duty  of  the  sinner  to  sur- 
render to  Christ  and  lay  hold  on  his  saving  mercy,  to 
enter  into  union  with  him,*  and  therefore  it  is  not 
a  matter  optional  with  him  when  he  shall  do  it.  We 
have  in  connection  with  marriage  (1)  love,  or  change 
of  heart;  (2)  the  formation  of  a  mental  purpose  to 
grant  the  suitor's  request;  (3)  the  engagement;  (4) 
the  actual  union  of  marriage.  We  have  in  conversion 
(1)  a  change  of  heart,  which  takes  place  in  repent- 
ance; (2)  the  formation  of  a  purpose  to  surrender  to 
Christ  and  receive  him  as  our  Savior,  the  final  ele- 
ment in  repentance;  (3)  the  mental  act  of  giving 
one's  self  up  to  Christ  and  entering  into  union  with 
him.  There  can  be  no  temporizing  with  regard  to 
this  last  step,  for  all  delays  for  pleasure  or  policy's 
sake  are  sinful  and  vitiate  the  repentance.  So  far  as 
such  considerations  are  concerned,  this  faith  must 
take  place  immediately;  not  for  a  rational  or  emo- 
tional reason,  as  in  the  case  of  the  two  other  forms  of 
faith  spoken  of,  but  for  a  moral  reason. 

But,  while  no  temporizing  conditions  can  be  per- 


*  It  is  only  of  those  that  are  in  Christ  that  it  is  said  that  there 
is  no  condemnation  (Rom.  viii.  1).  The  Scriptures  consider 
those  who  have  not  entered  into  union  with  Christ  as  living  in 
sin,  and  therefore  still  under  condemnation.  He  who  neglects 
union  with  the  Source  that  shall  make  righteousness  practicable 
is  prolonging  his  sin. 

198 


WHERE    DOES    THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

mitted  to  delay  this  spiritual  step,  the  question  arises 
whether  there  may  be  any  conditions  whatever  that 
can  do  so.  And  to  this  we  must  answer,  There  can. 
We  saw  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  ^vork  that  mere 
repentance  does  not  sever  us  from  the  sinful  life — 
that  there  are  certain  sins  of  a  self-perpetuating 
nature  which  must  be  undone  before  they  can  be  ter- 
minated, and  that  while  we  may  not  commit  any  fresh 
acts  of  transgression,  we  are  just  as  guilty  in  passive- 
ly permitting  these  wrongs  to  continue,  as  if  we  were 
actually  perpetrating  new  offenses.  The  touching  of 
a  torch  to  a  building  in  which  there  are  sleeping  in- 
mates is  an  act  of  the  nature  of  murder,  but,  though 
the  perpetrator  may  repent  of  having  done  this, 
every  moment  that  he  sees  the  flames  mounting  to 
their  work  of  death  and  does  nothing  to  quench  them, 
to  give  an  alarm,  or  to  waken  the  sleepers,  he  is  per- 
petuating the  original  act  of  murder.  We  saw  that  in 
view  of  this  it  had  been  a  principle  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment, both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New  Testaments, 
to  require  that  such  wrongs  be  righted  before  accept- 
ing any  religious  offerings  from  the  offender.  We  saw 
also  that,  with  the  man  who  had  been  living  away 
from  Christ  in  a  life  of  sin,  the  weight  of  his  influ- 
ence was  against  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  and  that 
this  great  wrong  would  continue  in  full  force  despite 
any  mere  mental  act  on  his  part,  and  that  the  step 
necessary  to  undoing  this  wrong  is  pro/ess/o?^;  and 
that,  in  accordance  with  this,  profession  has  been 
made  a  condition  of  divine  acceptance.  If  the  peni- 
tent realizes  these  things — and  if  he  does  not  he 
should  be  taught  them — he  will  be  stayed  in  his  pur- 
pose to  make  an  offering  of  himself  to  God  until  he 

can  do  so  consistently  with    these  moral  conditions. 

1P9 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

But  this  will  cause  him  to  delay  his  self-offering  until 
profession, — or  rather,  he  will  not  so  much  delay  his 
self-offering  as  hasten  his  profession, — and  in  that  act 
he  will  surrender  himself  to  Christ.  Thus,  the  moral 
element  in  this  spiritual  act  will  determine  that  it 
shall  take  place  in  profession,  and  the  particular  act 
which  God  has  ordained  as  a  means  of  profession  is 
baptism.  The  teachings  of  the  *New  Testament  on 
this  point  are  very  clear,  and  he  who  accepts  them 
without  bias  will  not  be  inclined  to  make  what  he  re- 
gards as  an  unacceptable  offering  of  himself  to  God, 
but  will  hasten  to  fulfil  those  moral  conditions  which 
will  insure  divine  acceptance.  There  may  be,  there- 
fore, a  very  brief  interval  between  repentance  and 
this  act  of  self-surrender. 

There  is  another  reason  why  this  spiritual  act 
should  not  take  place  before  profession.  The  spirit- 
ual faculties  have  just  been  quickened  into  action, 
and  as  they  are  new  and  untried  forces  in  the  life, 
there  is  no  means  of  knowing  how  strong  they  are. 
But  the  convert's  faith  must  be  strong  enough  to 
face  the  world  in  profession,  or  he  cannot  live  the 
Christian  life  before  men.  If  he  realizes  this,  he 
will  not  be  inclined  to  present  his  faith  for  accept- 
ance until  he  is  assured  of  its  fitness  to  fulfil  faith's 
purpose,  and  he  will  instinctively  seek  some  test  of 
its  strength  before  offering  himself  to  God.  An  act 
of  profession  furnishes  such  a  test.  The  act  of  self- 
surrender  will,  therefore,  by  virtue  of  a  spiritual  law, 
take  place  at  the  time  of  profession. 

Still  further,  however  strong  this  faith  may  be,  it 

cannot  succeed  alone;  and  recognizing  this,  God  has 

furnished  two   strong  arms  of  power  to  support  it. 

These   are   Christ   and   his  Church.      If  the   first  is 

200 


WHERE   DOES    TPIIS    SPIRITUAL    ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

mighty,  so  is  tlie  second;  and  no  faitli  that  feels  its 
own  insufficiency  will  venture  to  offer  itself  for 
acceptance  apart  from  these  forces  that  condition  its 
success,  especially  as  God  has  nowhere  promised  such 
acceptance.  Now,  connection  with  one  of  these 
spiritual  forces — Christ — can  be  made  by  an  act  of 
the  mind,  but  connection  with  the  church  can  only  be 
made  by  a  visible  act  of  the  nature  of  profession. 
The  convert  is  therefore  not  ready  to  make  his  self- 
offering  to  God  before  profession,  and  this  offering 
will  fitly  take  place  in  that  act. 

Again,  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  have  been 
broken  up  in  the  convert's  heart,  and  the  rushing  to- 
gether of  the  wanderer  and  the  waiting  Father  will  be 
an  act  of  the  most  intense  emotion.  No  other  such 
greeting  occurs  within  the  span  of  a  human  life.  But 
the  heart  when  deeply  moved  spurns  the  feebler 
forms  of  expression  and  longs  for  the  eager  kiss, 
the  fond  embrace,  and  other  most  tender  acts  of 
endearment.  To  deny  it  these  were  to  starve  it  and 
quench  its  holy  fires.  There  is  no  more  sweetly 
solemn  act  than  Christian  baptism — none  which  could 
be  more  precious  to  the  heart  at  this  point.  If  there 
be  deep  feeling  the  soul  will  long  to  present  itself  to 
Christ  in  such  an  act;  if  there  be  not,  the  conversion 
is  not  what  it  should  be.  With  eager  joy  the  soul 
will  seize  upon  such  an  act  in  which  to  present  its 
surrender  to  Christ  and  there  receive  the  divine  kiss 
of  absolution.  Baptism,  on  its  inner  or  spiritual 
side  is  justification  by  faith.  There  the  faith — the 
self-surrender — takes  place,  and  there  the  justifica- 
tion—that is,  if  the  heart  has  its  way.  But  the  heart 
will  not  delay  its  surrender  for  baptism;  it  will  rather 
bring  baptism  to  its  own  sweet  time,  and  that  will  be 

201 


MORAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

immediately.  And  so  it  was  in  the  apostolic  days. 
All  these  moral,  practical,  and  spiritual  reasons  will 
conspire  to  cause  this  spiritual  act  which  constitutes 
the  faith  that  is  reckoned  for  righteousness  to  take 
place  in  baptism;  and  it  is  only  the  ignoring  of  these 
important  considerations  that  will  cause  it  to  take 
place  earlier.  But  it  remains  to  mention  one  other 
condition  that  will  render  it  impossible  for  this  spir- 
itual act  to  take  place  sooner. 

j^  It  has  already  been  seen  that  an  acceptance  without 
an  offer  is  impossible,  and  that  no  acceptance  can  go 
before  an  offer,  or  be  larger  or  otherwise  conditioned 
than  the  offer.  Now,  consistently  with  the  princi- 
ples just  mentioned,  the  gospel  places  an  act  of  pro- 
fession (baptism)  as  a  condition  in  its  proffer  of 
salvation;  it  makes  baptism  a  condition  of  remission 
of  sins,  or  salvation  (Acts  ii.  38;  xxii.  16;  1.  Pet.  iii. 
21,  et  al),  and  the  act  by  which  we  enter  into  union 
with  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  26,  27;  Kom.  vi.  3,  5).  In  view 
of  this  fact  the  soul  cannot  take  Christ  as  its  own  or 
enter  into  union  with  him  before  that  act.  It  cannot 
do  this  even  mentally,  because  it  cannot  accept  what 
is  not  offered,  even  though  it  might  desire  to  do  so. 
A  woman  cannot  enter  into  union  with  a  man  who 
has  not  offered  himself  in  marriage,  however  she 
might  wish  to  do  so;  and  the  mental  act  of  taking 
him  as  her  husband  which  takes  place  in  marriage, 

1  cnnnot  take  place  even  in  her  mind  before  that  time. 

No  man  can  buy  a  farm  which  is  not  for  sale;  the 

mental  steps  even  of  such  a  transaction  cannot  take 

place;  and  if  the  owner  consents  only  to  sell  his  farm 

for  $5,000,  no  such  transaction,  even  mentally,   can 

take  place  on  a  basis  of  $4,000.     The  acceptance  must 

be  as  the  proffer;  its   conditions  and  tin\e  cannot  be 

202 


WHERE    DOES    THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

different.  In  the  apostolic  age,  when  baptism  was 
made  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins  and  union  with 
Christ,  this  spiritual  act  took  placeAn  baptism,  and  not 
before  it;  and  under  the  same  teaching  it  would 
inevitably  do  so  now.  When  the  mighty  reasons  why 
baptism  should  be  made  a  condition  of  acceptance 
are  realized,  and  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  make  it 
so  is  preached,  it  will  have  the  effect,  not  of  suspend- 
ing remission  of  sins  on  a  merely  formal  act,  but  of 
placing  the  faith  that  is  reckoned  for  righteousness 
m  baptism;  and  the  tendency  will  be  to  hasten  bap- 
tism rather  than  delay  faith.  In  conversion,  for 
moral,  practical,  and  spiritual  reasons,  the  heart 
should  be  ready  to  present  its  surrender  to  Christ 
very  soon,  and  it  is  then  that  baptism  should  take 
place.  This  will  cause  its  performance,  as  in  the 
apostolic  age,  at  the  very  time  of  conversion.  Place 
baptism  where  the  heart  demands  it,  and  it  cannot  be 
empty;  but  put  it  out  of  place,  and  it  becomes  a 
useless  form. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  attend  to  another  fact. 
The  taking  of  this  spiritual  step,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  occurs  in  baptism,  ushers  in  Christian  faith — 
faith  as  it  is  found  in  the  Christian  life.  Not  till  this 
moment  does  faith  in  this  form  exist.  This  step  is 
not  a  mere  incident  in  the  spiritual  history,  leaving 
the  state  of  mind  where  it  was  before,  but  the 
entrance  upon  a  new  stage  of  trust  quite  different 
from  anything  that  has  preceded  it.  When  a  Chris- 
tian prays  or  performs  any  other  Christian  duty  he 
does  not  enter  on  a  new  and  different  stage  of  experi- 
ence, but  his  attitude  toward  God  and  Christ  remains 
what  it  was  before  the  act,  though  he  may  have 
been  strengthened  and  otherwise  blessed;  the  charac- 

203 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

ter  of  his  mental  state  has  not  been  changed.  But 
not  so  with  this  spiritual  step;  not  till  this  is  taken 
does  the  convert  reach  the  stage  of  Christian  faith, 
and  possess  that  faith  in  all  its  essentiel  qualities. 
It  would  not  be  true  to  say,  however,  that  several  of 
its  elements  have  not  had  an  earlier  origin.  He  first 
believed  the  truth  regarding  Christ,  which  constitutes 
the  intellectual  element  of  his  faith.  He  then  re- 
pented of  his  sins  and  determined  to  lay  hold  on 
Christ  and  surrender  himself  to  his  authority  and 
keeping,  and  with  this  purpose  there  arose  a  species 
of  auticipative  trust  that  Christ  would  become  his 
Savior  when  he  fulfilled  this  purpose  in  giving  him- 
self up  to  him;  but  Christ  is  not  yet  his,  and  he  has 
not  yet  entered  into  union  with  him.*  Then  comes 
the  spiritual  act  in  which  he  mentally  utters  to  Christ 
his  surrender:  "I  give  myself  to  thee,  I  take  thee  as 
my  Lord  and  Savior,  forsaking  all  my  sins  and  enter- 
ing upon  a  righteous  life.  Accept  me  as  thine,"  This 
mental  act,  as  we  have  seen,  in  view  of  all  the  con- 


*  I  have  no  doubt  that  many  persons  regard  wgy^z';?,^  up  nnf;\<!L 
piind  to  serve  Christ  and  obey  niin  as  surrender  to  hirn.  but  sucb^ 
an  act  is  not  surrender,  even  mentaT  Surrender  is  a  social  act 
and  is  the  giving  up  To  another.  When  p  rnngnprpd  ^^npr;^] 
surrenders  to  the  victor,  his  act  comprises  two  parts — a  mental 
part,  and  a  phyt^loal  parfl  The  physical  part  may  consist  oi 
words,  such  as  "I  yurrender,"  or  of  an  act,  such  as  handing  his 
sword  to  the  other;  but  in  either  case  the  thing  expressed  is  the 
same,  and  is,  *'I  surrender.''  But  it  is  the  miitr/.  i-Viai-  ^ay^^  thlftl 
and  it  tells  the  truth.  ItEas  not  already  surrendered. — though  it  ^ 
has  decided  to  do  so^— but  does  so  i?i  this  act.  There  must  be  a 
mental  act  like  this  in  our  surrender  to  God,  and  it  will  be 
distinct  from  the  act  of  forming  a />/o'/'6'^^  to  serve  him.  It  is 
very  common  to  blend  mental  acts  which  are  closely  related,  as 
cause  and  effect,  into  one  conception;  and  much  confusion  results 
therefrom,  which  sometimes  leads  to  important  errors.  The  dis- 
tinction in  this  case  is  an  important  one;  for  God  does  not  forgive 
even  the  Christian's  sins  in  view  of  his  mere  repentance;  prayer, 
confession,  and  forgiveness  of  others,  are  also  conditions  (Mt. 
vi.  12;  Lk.  xi.  4;  IJn.  i.  9). 

204 


WHERE   DOES   THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

ditions,  falls  in  baptism;  and  as  it  is  the  act  of  accept- 
ance of  the  divine  proffer,  it  is  the  act  of  appropria- 
tion of  the  divine  blessing.  This  spiritual  act  is  by 
its  very  nature  appropynation  (appropriative  faith), 
and  as  what  is  appropriated  is  afterward  possessed, 
it  becomes  possessive  faith — something  that  has  not 
existed  till  this  moment.  An  anticipative  trust  which 
rose  as  an  incident  to  repentance  looked  forward  to 
Christ's  becoming  our  Savior;  this  rests  in  him  as 
already  ours.  The  mental  states  are  quite  different, 
and  it  is  this  possessive  trust  that  is  to  continue 
throughout  the  Christian  life.  This  is  Christian 
faith — the  faith  of  the  Christian  life.  It  is  also  the 
faith  that  justifies;  since,  according  to  the  principles 
of  the  divine  government  with  respect  to  perpetuated 
sins,  no  earlier  self-offering  can  be  accepted.  For 
important  moral,  practical,  and  spiritual  reasons  this 
faith  does  not  antedate,  but  finds  embodiment  in. 
Christian  baptism  as  a  solemn  act  of  profession,  and 
thus  baptism  becomes  a  condition  of  the  justification 
accorded  to  faith. 

We  have  now  made  a  long  journey.  Starting  with 
faith  as  a  mere  act  of  unethical,  unspiritual  trust,  we 
have  watched  the  interaction  of  spiritual  laws  and 
gospel  conditions  until  we  have  seen  it  grow  glorious 
and  blossom  into  one  of  the  sublimest  acts  of  the 
human  soul.  We  have  discovered  not  only  what  this 
faith  is,  but  when,  in  view  of  the  moral,  practical, 
and  spiritual  conditions  which  affect  it,  it  will  natur- 
ally take  place.  And  in  all  this  we  have  not  been 
dependent  on  any  of  the  statements  of  the  Scriptures 
regarding  it,  beyond  the  mere  fact  that   it  is  some 

kind  of  trust.     It  will  now  remain  for  us  to  inquire 

205 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

how  the  writers  of  the  Scriptures  regard  it.  Have 
they  also  made  this  journey  and  reached  the  same 
conclusion?  or  rather,  have  they  seen  all  these  things 
intuitively,  without  resort  to  any  course  of  reasoning? 
and  does  their  language  show  that  they  looked  upon 
these  facts  as  we  have  found  them  to  exist?  They 
might  have  seen  less  than  we  have  discovered  and 
still  been  inspired,  and  they  might  have  seen  all  and 
not  have  spoken  of  it;  for  they  were  not  given  to 
philosophic  disquisitions.  They  never  undertake  to 
give  us  a  natural  history  of  faith,  and  what  they 
thought  concerning  it  must  be  gleaned  from  their 
references  to  it  when  speaking  of  other  subjects. 
As  preparatory  to  a  correct  understanding  of  their 
references  to  it,  let  us  pause  to  make  one  further  in- 
quiry: If  faith  be  what  we  have  found  it  to  be,  how, 
in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  habits  of  speech,  will 
they  be  likely  to  speak  of  it? 

1.  If  faith  be  the  spiritual  element  in  baptism,  it 
will  be  natural  for  them  to  use  faith  and  baptism  inter- 
changeably in  some  connections,  ascribing  to  baptism 
what  faith  accomplishes,  and  when  speaking  concern- 
ing the  nature  of  faith  to  describe  what  takes  place 
in  baptism.  If  the  spiritual  act  which  justifies  takes 
place  in  baptism,  we  shall  expect  to  find  such  lan- 
guage of  identification,  which  otherwise  would  seem 
strange. 

2.  It  would  be  natural  to  speak  of  salvation  as  be- 
ing by  faith,  without  mentioning  baptism;  and  if  in 
other  places  baptism  should  be  spoken  of  as  a  condi- 
tion of  salvation,  there  would  be  no  contradiction,  and 
the  writers  would  not  feel  called  upon  to  make  any 

explanation  as  though  the  statements  were  incompat- 

206 


WHERE    DOES    THIS    SPIRITUAL   ACT   TAKE   PLACE 

ible.  Salvation  by  faith  would,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
be  salvation  by  baptism,  and  vice  versa. 

3.  As  this  spiritual  act  which  takes  place  in  bap- 
tism possesses  various  intellectual,  moral,  and  spir- 
itual qualities,  and  as  these  do  not  all  come  into 
existence  at  the  same  time,  but  through  a  process  in- 
volving successive  steps,  the  act  of  believing  might 
at  times  be  viewed  as  taking  place  at  the  point  of  its 
consummation,  and  at  other  times  as  a  process  in- 
volving ail  the  steps  of  conversion;  and  on  still  other 
occasions  the  writers  might  have  in  mind  some  partic- 
ular step  in  the  series,  and  use  faith  to  designate  it. 
Thus,  in  some  cases  men  would  be  told  to  believe  and 
do  something  else  in  order  to  salvation,  and  at  other 
times  to  believe  and  they  should  be  saved;  and  these 
statements  would  not  be  inconsistent,  but  the  connec- 
tion would  be  likely  to  show  that  the  word  was  used 
in  one  case  in  a  narrower,  and  in  another  in  a  wider, 
sense.  It  might  sometimes  appear  that  the  belief 
referred  to  was  mere  intellectual  assent,  again  that  it 
included  this  with  repentance,  and  again  that  it  in- 
volved the  entire  spiritual  process  of  conversion. 
Such  various  uses  of  words  are  very  common,  and 
may  be  found  on  nearly  every  page  of  our  diction- 
aries. 

If  faith  be  referred  to  by  the  Scripture  writers  in 

any  of  the  above  ways  it  will  be  in  perfect  accord 

with  what  we  have   discovered  regarding   it;   but   it 

would  be  incompatible  with  some  other  views  of  it. 

207 


CHAPTER  IV. 

abkaham's  faith. 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  at  length  the  Scrip- 
ture teaching  regarding  the  nature  of  faith  and  its 
relation  to  baptism,  it  will  be  well  to  pause  and 
examine  more  fully  the  character  of  Abraham's 
faith,  concerning  which  we  have  only  thus  far  elicited 
the  fact  that  it  was  trust.  What  was  this  faith?  what 
was  its  setting  in  Abraham's  spiritual  history?  and 
how  far  does  it  coincide  with  Christian  faith? 

§i.  The  Nature  of  Abraham's  Faith  and  its  Cor- 
respondence with  Christian  Faith. 

Paul  founds  his  argument  on  justification  by  faith 
on  an  incident  in  the  life  of  Abraham,  in  which  a 
mental  act  representing  a  mental  state  is  said  to 
have  been  counted  to  him  for  righteousness.*  That 
incident  is  recorded  in  the  15th  chapter  of  Genesis. 
Let  us  take  our  stand  there  and  look  about  us  and  see 
what  we  can  discover.  What  was  this  faith  that  was 
then  counted  for  righteousness? 

I.  It  was  not  the  belief  on  the  part  of  Abraham  of 
the  truth  regarding  the  being  and  nature  of  God. 
There  was  a  time  when  Abraham  took  this  step,  for 


*  The  Old  Testament  record  of  the  life  of  Abraham  has  lately 
received  very  free  handling  by  Higher  Critics;  but  this  can  in  no 
way  affect  our  argument,  though  even  their  most  extreme  con- 
clusions should  be  adopted.  Paul  took  this  record  just  as  it 
stands,  and  we  must  do  so  if  we  would  understand  his  use  of  it. 
Were  it  our  object  to  make  an  independent  use  of  this  narrative, 
some  reference  to  the  questions  raised  by  modern  criticism  might 
be  necessary;  but  for  our  present  purpose  they  can  have  no 
bearing. 

208 


ABRAHAM  S    FAITH 

his  father  was  an  idolater  (Josh.  xxiv.  2),  but  it  was 
long  before  this  counting  of  his  faith  for  righteous- 
ness to  which  Paul  refers.  Clearly,  then,  no  mental 
act  of  a  similar  character  can  constitute  the  faith  that 
is  reckoned  for  righteousness  in  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion. The  intellectual  belief  in  the  divinity  and 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  cannot  be  the  faith  that  justi- 
fies, though  it  certainly  forms  an  element  in  that  faith. 
2.  Abraham's  faith  to  which  Paul  refers  was  not 
followed  by  repentance  as  an  antecedent  condition  of 
its  being  counted  for  righteousness,  but  was  so  count- 
ed immediately,  without  waiting  for  any  subsequent 
act,  either  mental  or  physical.  No  faith,  therefore, 
that  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  repentance  can  be 
the  faith  that  is  counted  for  righteousness,  for  it  can- 
not be  the  faith  of  Abraham.  The  narrative  not  only 
makes  no  mention  of  repentance  as  following  Abra- 
ham's faith,  but  positively  excludes  it.  It  is  the  office 
of  repentance  to  make  the  heart  and  life  loyal,  but 
Abraham  had  been  conspicuously  loyal  to  God  for 
many  years.  Moreover,  the  language  of  God  to  Abra- 
ham immediately  preceding  this  act  of  faith  that  God 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness  excludes  the  idea  of 
unloyalty  or  unfaithfulness  to  God :  '  'Fear  not,  Abra- 
ham; I  am  thy  shield  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward" 
was  the  approving  address  with  which  he  was  greeted. 
The  purpose  of  repentance  had  already  been  realized 
in  Abraham's  character;  his  faith  sprang  out  of  a 
loyal  heart.  But  this  involves  more:  Abraham  liad 
already  repented.  When  this  took  place  we  do  not 
know,  but  we  know  that  there  was  a  time  when  he 
did  not  believe  in  the  true  God,  and  he  could  not  be 
loyal  to  a  Being  in  whom  he  did  not  believe.  Follow- 
ing this  belief  there  must  have  been  a  time  when  he 
14  209 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF  BAPTISM 

resolvea  to  forsake  all  that  was  inconsistent  with  the 
service  of  God  and  enter  upon  that  service  with  full 
purpose  of  heart.  But  this  was  repentance.  How 
profound  this  repentance  was  we  can  only  judge  by  its 
fruits,  and  the  narrative  represents  him  as  one  of  the 
most  obedient  and  faithful  of  the  servants  of  God. 
Not  till  within  a  few  years  has  the  human  eye  looked 
upon  the  source  of  the  Nile,  but  all  mankind  have  been 
no  less  sure  that  it  had  a  source.  So  the  earlier  ex- 
periences of  Abraham  are  hidden  from  view.  We  do 
not  meet  him  till  he  is  seventy-five  years  old,  and  then 
find  hiui  a  loyal,  devout  servant  of  God.  This  char- 
acter must  have  had  a  source.  The  world  could  not 
see  the  source  of  the  Nile,  but  the  river  was  there,  and 
there  could  be  no  doubt  about  the  source.  With 
Abraham  the  loyal,  devout  character  is  there,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  repentance.  How 
deep  it  was  we  cannot  say,  but  it  took  place,  and 
produced  some  most  wholesome  fruit.  But  the  faith 
that  Paul  refers  to  as  having  been  counted  for  right- 
eousness came  after  this  repentance.  So  far,  there- 
fore, as  Abraham's  case  has  any  bearing,  the  faith 
that  is  now  counted  for  righteousness  must  follow, 
not  precede,  repentance.  With  the  Christian  convert, 
as  with  Abraham,  the  faith  that  justifies  must  spring 
out  of  a  loyal  heart. 

3.  FroQi  an  examination  of  the  narrative  in  Gene- 
sis XV.  we  do  not  find  that  Abraham's  mental  act  that 
was  counted  for  righteousness  was  an  act  of  self -sur- 
render. It  is  represented  only  as  an  act  of  trust  in 
view  of  a  promise  which  God  had  made  to  him.  But 
that  God  is  our  rightful  Ruler  and  our  needed  Savior 
is  founded  in  the  nature  of  things,  and  self-surrender 

must  have  been  just  as  necessary  for  Abraham  as  for 

210 


ABRAHAM'S   FAITH 

any  other  person.  How  is  it,  then,  that  we  find  no 
trace  of  this  step  in  that  faith  that  was  counted  to 
Abraham  for  righteousness?  The  answer  is,  that  it 
had  already  taken  place.  How  do  we  know  this? 
Because  we  find  him  in  the  actual  service  and  in  the 
absolute  keeping  of  God,  and  he  could  not  have 
reached  that  relation  without  putting  himself  there. 
When  that  self-surrender  took  place  we  do  not  know, 
but  the  most  detailed  account  of  it  could  not  make 
the  fact  more  certain.  At  some  time  in  his  past  life 
he  had,  in  an  act  of  repentance,  made  up  his  mind  to 
give  himself  up  to  God,  and  some  time  following  that 
resolve  ho  had  made  a  commitment  of  his  life  to  God. 
This  was  self-surrender;  and  this  fact  furnishes  a 
most  excellent  reason  why  the  faith  spoken  of  in 
Genesis  xv.  was  not  an  act  of  self-surrender.  When 
a  man  is  already  in  a  house,  he  cannot  enter  it. 
Abraham's  act  of  trust  that  was  counted  for  right- 
eousness sprang  out  of  a  loyal,  committed  life,  and 
partook  of  these  qualities  without  originating  them. 
There  is  another  thing  to  be  noted.  We  saw  when 
considering  the  nature  of  Christian  faith,  that  there 
are  two  stages  of  trust — one  which  arises  as  an  inci- 
dent to  repentance,  and  one  which  succeeds  self-=sur= 
render.  The  one  is  anticipative;  the  other  possessive. 
The  one  is  transient  and  soon  gives  place  to  some- 
thing else ;  the  other  is  the  abiding  faith  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  The  one  looks  forward  to  being  in  a  cove- 
nant relation  with  Christ;  the  other  abides  in  that 
relation.  Which  of  these  corresponds  to  that  faith 
of  Abraham  that  was  counted  for  righteousness? 
Certainly  not  anticipative  trust,  for  any  anticipation 
which  he  may  have  indulged  before  his  self-surrender 

was   long   before   the   faith   spoken   of  in  Gen.  xv., 

211 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

which  succeeded  his  self-surrender.  The  promise 
which  God  gave  him  was  not  conditional,  to  be  ap- 
propriated only  in  the  performancee  of  some  future 
act.  It  was  his  already.  His  trust  was  that  of  one 
already  in  a  covenant  relation  with  God,  and  it  was 
the  permanent  faith  of  his  life.  It  received  no  new 
elements  after  that  time,  but  continued  to  be  the 
same  mental  attitude  ever  after,  though  growing  in 
strength  through  trial  and  obedience.  It  corresponds 
to  the  completed  faith  of  the  Christian  life,  which 
also  remains  ever  the  same  in  quality,  though  varying 
in  strength  according  to  the  conditions  of  its  exer- 
cise. So  far  as  the  life  of  Abraham  bears  on  our 
question,  it  is  the  possessive  trust  that  a  man  has, 
after  having  fulfilled  all  conditions  of  becoming  a 
Christian,  that  is  counted  for  righteousness. 

But  this  trust  of  Abraham  did  not,  as  in  the  case 
of  Christian  conversion,  arise  in  immediate  connec- 
tion with  self-surrender.  This  brings  us  to  another 
fact. 

4.  The  trust  of  Abraham  on  this  occasion  was  not 
the  first  of  his  trusting  in  God.  He  had  long  not 
only  believed  the  truth  regarding  God  and  been  loyal 
to  him,  but  trusted  in  him.  He  had  left  his  former 
habitation  long  before  at  God's  direction,  and  moved 
by  a  promise  of  great  blessing  to  himself  and  poster- 
ity. He  had  been  sustained  in  his  pilgrimage  and 
homeless  wanderings  by  this  hope,  which  is  a  form  of 
trust;  and  there  was  nothing  in  this  trust  that  had 
called  forth  the  divine  disapprobation.  The  author 
of  the  Book  of  Hebrews  speaks  of  it  as  a  lofty  exam- 
ple of  the  heroism  of  faith,  and  says  of  those  who 
exercise   it,  "God   is  not   ashamed   of    them,   to  be 

called  their  God;    for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a 

212 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

city"  (Heb.  xi:  16).  God's  language  to  Abraham  in 
Gen.  XV.  1,  also  shows  that  he  enjoyed  the  divine  ap- 
probation. How,  then,  did  this  faith — this  trust 
springing  out  of  a  loyal,  committed  life — differ  from 
the  faith  that  is  said  in  the  sixth  verse  to  have  been 
counted  to  Abraham  for  righteousness?  I  think  the 
answer  should  be,  that  the  latter  was  very  strong— 
that  it  arose  to  the  height  of  heroic  trust — and  em- 
braced the  miraculous  in  the  object  of  its  confidence. 
The  previous  promises  in  which  Abraham  had 
trusted,  might  all  have  been  fulfilled  through  the 
providential  workings  of  God.  True,  when  he  left 
his  former  home  to  come  into  the  land  of  Canaan  on 
the  promise  that  God  would  make  of  him  a  great 
nation,  he  was  seventy-five  years  old,  and  Sarah,  his 
wife,  was  sixty-five;  but  he  took  Lot,  his  nephew, 
with  him,  and  may  easily  have  supposed  that  the 
promise  was  to  be  fulfilled  through  him.  In  course 
of  time  Lot  left  him,  and  he  seems  to  have  fallen 
back  on  the  supposition  that  the  promise  was  to  re- 
ceive fulfillment  through  Eliezer,  a  servant  of  his 
house.  He  did  not  lose  his  faith,  and  was  still  loyal 
and  true  to  God,  but  this  change  of  prospect  was  a 
great  sorrow  to  him;  and  when  God  commends  him 
and  promises  to  be  his  "shield"  and  "exceeding  great 
reward,"  the  words  seem  to  fall  almost  mockingly  on 
his  disappointment,  and  he  breaks  silence  and  tells 
God  the  burden  of  his  heart.  This  calls  forth  the 
astounding  promise  that  is  either  to  call  forth  a 
sublime  faith,  or  make  him  an  infidel.  He  is  led 
forth  under  the  starry  sky  and  bidden  to  count  the 
stars.  He  cannot  number  the  jeweled  splendor,  and 
God  says,  "So  shall  thy  seed  be  that  shall  come  forth 

out  of  thine  own  bowels."     Abraham  was  one  hun- 

213 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

dred  years  old  (Kom.  iv.)  and  his  wife  was  ninety. 
Could  the  promise  be  fulfilled?  Nature  said,  No. 
Faith  faced  this  tremendous  no  and  said,  Yes— and  it 
was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness. 

What  was  this  faith  that  was  counted  for  righteous- 
ness? A.  sublime  trust  in  God's  proinise,  involving  the 
miraculous^  springing  out  of  a  loyal  and  committed 
life.  This  is  its  character  as  drawn  from  the  narra- 
tive of  Abraham's  life,  and  this  was  Paul's  view  of  it. 
In  speaking  of  it  in  the  Book  of  Komans  (ch.  iv.  16- 
25),  he  dwells  on  its  strength  and  the  fact  that  it  was 
not  staggered  by  what  was,  according  to  the  laws  of 
nature,  impossible,  and  then  concludes,  "Wherefore 
also  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for  righteousness." 
Paul  considers  the  obstacle  to  be  overcome  in  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  promise  in  this  case  as  great  as  that 
of  raising  the  dead;  and  corresponding  to  this,  the 
Christian  faith  includes  the  belief  in  an  actual  resur- 
rsction  and  all  that  it  involves.  Any  faith,  therefore, 
which  eliminates  the  miraculous,  cannot  correspond 
to  this  faith  of  Abraham  which  was  counted  for 
righteousness,  and  is  lacking  in  an  indispensable 
feature  of  Christian  faith. 

Before  proceeding  further,  let  us  pause  and  notice 
one  fact  that  has  now  come  into  view.  The  steps  by 
which  Abraham  reached  that  faith  that  was  counted 
to  him  for  righteousness,  were  distributed  over  a 
period  of  many  years.  He  first  came  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God;  then  he  became  loyal  to  him — 
a  change  of  attitude  which  it  is  the  office  of  repent- 
ance to  bring  about;  then  there  was  a  bowing  to  the 
authority  of  God  and  committing  his  whole  life  to  his 
guidance  and  keeping;    and  then,  many  years  later, 

came  this  trust  that  was  counted  for  righteousness. 

214 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

In  Christian  conversion  we  have  similar  steps  and  in 
the  same  order,  but  with  this  difference:  they  take 
pUice  more  rapidly.  We  have,  first,  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth  concerning  God  and  Christ  reached  through 
the  faith  of  the  understanding;  then  repentance; 
then,  following  closely,  self-surrender,  and  immedi- 
ately thereon,  possessive  trust,  or  the  Christian  faith 
that  justifies.  Self-surrender  is  the  mental  act  by 
which  we  put  ourselves  into  Christ's  hands  already 
waiting  to  receive  us,  and  it  is  therefore  the  act  of 
appropriation,  which  is  by  its  very  nature  the  begin- 
ning of  possession.  Thus,  self-surrender  and  posses- 
sive faith,  in  Christian  conversion,  lie  so  closely  to- 
gether as  to  be  practically  one  act,  while  Abraham's 
self-surrender  and  the  faith  that  was  accounted  to 
him  for  righteousness  were  separated  by  many  years. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  shortening  of  perspec- 
tive in  Christian  conversion?  Simply  this:  All 
promises  and  privileges  are  now  made  known  to  the 
sinner  at  the  same  time  that  his  duty  to  repent  be- 
comes known,  and  the  mental  steps  can  be  taken  as 
rapidly  as  the  mind  can  operate.  But  with  Abraham, 
the  promise  which  called  forth  the  trust  that  was 
counted  for  righteousness  was  not  uttered  until  many 
years   after   his   self-surrender.*     Thus,   two    mental 


*A  question  emerges  here  which  we  may  be  able  to  answer  onl}' 
conjecturally:  Was  the  faith  which  Abraham  had  before  this 
time  so  far  insufficient  that  he  remained  during  all  these  j-ears 
unpardoned?  Repentance  toward  God  issues  in  loyalty  to  God, 
and  that  Abraham  possessed  this  loyalty  and  had  also  surrender- 
ed himself  to  the  divine  guidance  and  care  is  unquestionable. 
He  had  also  had  a  trust  in  God  which  had  been  the  shaping 
principle  of  his  life.  Did  he,  after  all  this,  remain  unpardoned? 
On  this  the  Scriptures  do  not  speak,  but  we  have  the  following 
facts:  1.  Abraham  enjoyed  God's  approval  (Gen.  xv.  1).  2.  The 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  speaks  of  this  early  faith  of 
Abraham  as  a  distinguished  example  of  heroic  faith  (Heb.  xi.  8 

215 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS  OF   BAPTISM 

steps  which  are  taken  so  closely  together  as  to  be 
practically  one  in  Christian  conversion  are  separated 
by  many  years  with  Abraham.  This  will  always  be 
the  case  if  the  conditions  of  their  being  taken  are 
separated  by  a  period  of  time,  instead  of  all  being 
presented  to  the  mind  at  once.  Abraham's  advance 
was  through  many  years  in  a  slowlj"  growing  light, 
while  the  gospel  is  a  single  sunburst  of  duty  and  priv- 
ilege. It  is  important  that  we  take  good  note  of  this, 
for  we  shall  find  other  things  in  long  perspective  in 
the  life  of  Abraham,  and  from  a  similar  cause.  We 
are  now  prepared  to  consider  another  fact. 

5.  The  mental  act  of  trust  which  constituted  the 
faith  that  was  counted  to  Abraham  for  righteousness 
did  not  have  any  external  embodiment.     In  Christian 

sg^.  3.  According  to  James,  Abraham's  faith  was  counted  for  right- 
eousness, at  least  once  after  this  time  (Jas.  ii.  21-23);  so  that  it 
would  seem  that  this  was  an  act  that  was  not  self-excluding,  and 
could  take  place  more  than  once.  If  the  counting  of  Abraham's 
faith  for  righteousness  in  Gen.  xv.  did  not  exclude  its  being  so 
counted  agarin  at  the  time  of  the  offering  of  Isaac,  why  should  it 
exclude  the  possibility  of  an  earlier  counting?  In  view  of  these 
considerations  I  do  not  see  that  we  are  warranted  in  deciding 
that  Abraham  was  not  justified  before  the  occurrence  in  Gen.  xv., 
but  in  the  silence  of  the  vScriptures  I  should  not  desire  to  make 
any  affirmation  on  that  point.  There  are  no  more  certain  evi- 
dences of  a  loyal  and  committed  life  after  this  time  than  there 
v.^ere  before,  and  we  can  see  no  good  reason  why  justification 
should  have  been  withheld. 

If  we  are  to  give  weight  to  what  James  says,  we  must  under- 
stand the  justification  to  be  an  act  that  can  be  repeated,  and  the 
following  explanation  may  not  be  far  from  the  truth. 

Abraham  had  been  justified  before,  but  at  this  time  (Gen.  xv.) 
his  faith  rose  to  so  high  a  degree  of  heroic  trust  that  God 
honored  it  with  a  new  mark  of  approval,  pronouncing  him  right- 
eous in  a  still  higher  degree  than  he  had  done  before,  and  when 
his  faith  rose  to  a  new  height,  both  as  loyalty  and  trust,  in  the 
offering  of  Isaac,  God  again  pronounced  him  righteous  in  a  still 
higher  degree.  Thus  these  justifications  would  be  intensive 
rather  than  absolute  or  primary.  Some  such  explanation  would 
seem  necessary  from  the  fact  that  these  justifications  admit  of 
repetition. 

216 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

conversion  we  have  seen  that  there  are  important 
reasons  why  this  mental  act  should  take  place  in 
baptism,  and  have  noted  the  fact — which  we  shall 
show  at  greater  length  later — that  the  Scriptures 
place  it  there.  But  we  find  no  such  act  as  an  embodi- 
ment of  Abraham's  faith  at  this  time,  and  the  justifi- 
cation takes  place  without  waiting  for  any  such  con- 
dition. How  shall  we  explain  this?  Does  not  this 
negative  all  that  we  have  said  on  this  subject?  and 
does  it  not  seem  to  stand  in  conflict  with  any  view 
that  would  make  baptism  a  condition  of  the  remission 
of  sins?  Does  not  the  difficulty  lie  even  deeper  than 
this?  Have  we  not  shown  that  baptism  as  a  condition 
of  remission  of  sins  is  not  a  mere  arbitrary  appoint- 
ment, but  that  it  has  its  reason  in  the  demands  of 
moral  and  spiritual  law — demands  which  must  be  sup- 
posed to  affect  the  case  of  Abraham  as  certainly  as 
that  of  Christian  conversion?  Is  not  Abraham's  case 
regarded  by  Paul  as  a  type  of  Christian  conversion? 
and  if  Abraham  can  be  justified  in  view  of  a  simple 
mental  act  apart  from  any  such  step,  why  cannot 
othei's?  Do  we  not  search  the  record  in  vain  for  any 
such  act  as  Christian  baptism  either  taking  place  as  an 
investiture  of  this  mental  act  or  forming  a  condition 
of  Abraham's  justification?  Is  it  not  clear,  then,  that 
no  such  act  can  be  necessary  to  justification?  Before 
drawing  this  conclusion  let  us  be  sure  that  our  reas- 
oning does  not  prove  too  much.  It  is  true  that  we 
find  no  baptism  in  the  record  given  of  this  faith  in 
Gen.  XV.,  but  it  is  also  true  that  we  find  no  repent- 
ance and  no  self-surrender  there.  The  narrative  is  a 
very  simple  statement  of  fact.  God  had  been  speak- 
ing approvingly  to  Abraham.     Abraham  tells  him  of 

his  great  disappointment  and  God  then  promises  him 

217 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

issue  from  his  own  body.  Abraham  believes  God, 
and  it  is  counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  There  is 
no  sign  of  repentance  or  self-surrender  here,  and  Paul 
finds  none  in  his  interpretation  of  the  case  in  Rom.  iv. 
Shall  we,  then,  conclude  that  repentance  and  self- 
surrender  are  not  necessary  to  justification,  and  rule 
out  not  only  baptism,  but  the  moral  element  of  faith? 
If  we  are  to  depend  on  the  bare  statement  of  this 
narrative  we  must  do  so.  But  such  a  method  would 
be  a  grave  misinterpretation  of  Abraham's  spiritual 
history.  The  truth  is,  that  Abraham  had  repented 
and  become  loyal  to  God  long  before,  and  had  com- 
mitted his  life  to  God's  keeping;  and  this  act  of  trust 
springs  out  of  a  loyal  heart  and  a  conmiitted  life. 
This  trust  was,  therefore,  loyal  trust;  this  faith  was 
moral  faith.  And,  while  it  is  true  that  all  these 
elements  of  Abraham's  spiritual  character  may  have 
risen  with  this  sublime  trust  to  a  higher  level,  they 
did  not  have  their  origin  here,  but  arose  long  before. 
If  we  must  step  outside  of  this  narrative  into  the 
unwritten  history  of  Abraham's  past  to  find  his  re- 
pentance and  self-surrender,  why  is  it  not  admissible 
to  seek  something  else  there?  But  we  must  not  do 
this  simply  for  the  sake  of  esca})ing  a  difficulty.  If 
we  are  to  place  anything  else  in  Abraham's  past  there 
must  be  a  good  reason  for  it.  Now,  as  we  begin  to 
look  at  this  question  on  its  merits  we  find  ourselves 
face  to  face  with  a  surprising  fact.  When  we  were 
examining  th^  conditions  of  Christian  conversion  we 
found  weighty  moral  and  spiritual  reasons  why  an  act 
of  profession  like  baptism  should  form  an  investiture 
of  justifying  faith  and  be  a  condition  of  remission  of 
sins.     When  we   look   at    Abraham's    faith   on   this 

occasion  we  find  not  one  of  these  reasons  applicable. 

218 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

There  was  no  moral  reason  why  he  should  make  a 
profession  at  this  time,  and  there  was  no  spiritual 
reason  why  his  faith  should  take  place  in  an  act  like 
baptism.  It  was  simply  the  belief  of  a  great  promise; 
and  as  we  look  about  us  we  do  not  find  that  the  belief 
of  promises  usually  calls  for  physical  investiture. 
There  was  no  reason  why  anything  like  baptism 
should  take  place  at  this  point  in  Abraham's  spiritual 
history;  and,  if  there  is  as  little  reason  for  it  in  Chris- 
tian conversion,  it  is  certainly  out  of  place.  Now,  let 
us  ask:  Was  there  any  point  in  Abraham's  spiritual 
history  where  an  act  corresponding  to  baptism  loas 
demanded? 

When  Abraham  was  worshiping  his  ancestral  gods, 
the  whole  weight  of  his  influence  was  in  their  favor, 
and  thus  against  the  true  God.  When  he  ceased  to 
worship  these  gods  and  began  to  worship  the  true 
God,  if  this  were  done  secretly,  the  whole  weight  of  his 
influence  would  still  be  unchanged  and  lie  in  favor 
of  the  old  gods.  The  voice  of  his  life  would  be  against 
God;  and  this  would  be  a  moral  wrong.  Hence  moral 
law  would  demand  that  he  make  a  profession  at  pre- 
cisely that  time  when  he  entered  upon  the  service  of 
the  true  God.  But  that  was  the  time  when  he  gave 
himself  up  to  God.  To  have  placed  profession  after 
that  time  would  have  been  to  prolong  an  old  wrong. 
Thus,  profession  was  morally  demanded  at  the  time  of 
Abraham's  self-surrender.  This  great  mental  step  was 
of  precisely  the  nature  that  in  all  ages  has  called  for 
external  embodiment.  It  was  a  divine- human  greet- 
ing, and  it  was  the  entrance  into  a  new  relation.  Such 
acts  have  in  all  ages  called  for  physical  embodiment. 
The  handshake,  the  kiss  of  greeting,  the  affectionate 

embrace,  etc.,  fulfill  the  purpose  in  ordinary  social 

219 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

life;  while  marriage,  naturalization,  etc.,  supply  the 
need  in  the  more  weighty  matters  of  entering  into  a 
new  relation.  And,  with  all  the  force  that  these  are 
needed,  Abraham  needed  such  an  act  at  that  time. 
Moral  and  spiritual  laws  therefore  demanded  that 
some  act  of  the  nature  of  Christian  baptism  should 
take  place  at  precisely  the  time  of  Abraham's  self- 
surrender,  and  form  the  embodiment  of  that  spirit- 
ual act.  Some  such  act  did  take  place  at  that  time, 
or  moral  law  was  violated  and  spiritual  instincts  were 
defrauded  of  their  just  due.  This  fact  explains  com- 
pletely why  no  such  act  should  be  found  at  the  time 
of  Abraham's  simple  act  of  trust  spoken  of  in  Gen. 
XV.  It  would  be  out  of  place  there;  it  was  demanded 
here,  and  we  know  of  no  reason  to  doubt  that  some 
such  act  really  took  place  at  this  point.  So  far  all  is 
clear;  but  how  will  this  explain  why  baptism  should 
be  the  physical  embodiment  of  the  faith  that  is  reck- 
oned for  righteousness,  when  it  certainly  was  not  so 
with  Abraham?  Just  this  way:  Abraham's  self -sur- 
render and  this  faith  were  separated  by  many  years, 
and  the  act  of  profession  must,  according  to  its 
nature,  cling  to  the  surrender;  but  the  self-surrender 
and  the  possessive  trust  come  together  in  Christian 
conversion  and  take  place  as  practically  one  act,  so 
that  when  baptism,  according  to  the  demands  of 
moral  and  spiritual  law,  forms  an  investiture  of  the 
self -surrender,  it  embraces  the  new-born  trust  also. 
As  the  beginning  of  the  possessive  trust  of  the  Chris- 
tian life,  baptism  is  not  demanded;  as  an  investiture 
of  the  soul's  self-surrender,  it  is.  Thus,  the  shorten- 
ing of  the  perspective  in  Christian  conversion,  bring- 
ing two  spiritual  steps  together,  explains  completely 

this  seeming  discrepancy.    The  day  should  l)e  past  for 

220 


ABRAHAM  S    FAITH 

fanciful  interpretations  of  Scripture.  It  is  our  duty 
to  view  isolated  facts  in  the  light  of  spiritual  kistoiy, 
and  when  we  do  so,  no  far-fetched  efforts  are  needed 
to  explain  away  difficulties,  for  they  vanish  of  them- 
selves.    This  brings  us  to  another  question. 

6.  Some  fourteen  years  later,  Abraham  received  a 
command  that  he,  his  boy  Ishmael,  and  all  his  male 
servants  should  be  circumcised.  What  w^as  the  pur- 
pose of  this?  It  has  been  held  by  some  that  this  cir- 
cumcision occupied  the  place  and  fulfilled  the  office 
that  baptism  now  fills  in  the  Christian  economy.  As 
the  Scriptures  nowhere  say  this,  it  is  inferred  from  a 
supposed  similarity  of  position  and  office.  Is  this 
correct?  We  have  seen  that  there  was  a  time  in 
Abraham's  unwritten  history  when  an  act  correspond- 
ing to  baptism  as  an  act  of  profession  was  demanded. 
That  time  was  when,  having  determined  to  serve  God, 
he  surrendered  himself  to  God  and  entered  upon  his 
service.  If  Abraham  did  this,  he  did  what  he  should 
do;  if  not,  he  violated  a  moral  law.  In  the  apos- 
tolic age,  when  men  reached  this  point  in  their  spirit- 
ual history,  the  apostles  baptized  them,  and  they 
never  did  so  at  any  other  time.  Whatever  took  the 
place  of  baptism  with  Abraham  was  called  for  at  that 
time,  and  no  other.  We  may  go  further  and  say  that 
Abraham  did  take  some  such  step  at  or  near  that 
time.  We  know  this  because  we  find  him  in  after  life 
living  before  others  as  a  professed  worshiper  of  God. 
There  was  a  time  when  he  began  to  do  this,  and  some 
act  by  which  he  did  it.  By  some  means  he  made 
a  profession  and  entered  upon  the  new  life.  Was  the 
means  chosen  well  fitted  to  the  purpose?  We  do  not 
know.     Whether  well  or  ill,  it  served  the   purpose, 

and  that  thing  was  done  which  it  is  now  the  office  of 

221 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

baptism  to  accomplish.  This  act,  whatever  it  was, 
occupied  the  phice  of  baptism.  If  it  came  at  the 
precise  time  of  Abraham's  surrender  to  God,  well; 
if  it  came  after  that  time,  a  moral  law  was  violated. 
What  it  concerns  us  to  know  is,  that  he  did  it.  Now 
baptism,  because  of  the  position  it  occupies  and  the 
service  it  performs,  is  not  subject  to  repetition.  As 
a  child  can  never  reach  the  age  of  twelve  but  once, 
so  the  spiritual  history  of  any  man  can  never  reach 
the  period  of  baptism  but  once.  Any  act  which 
stands  in  the  place  of  baptism  and  serves  its  purpose, 
can  never,  therefore,  be  required  but  once.  The 
thing  it  was  designed  to  do,  has  been  done  once  for 
all.  As  Abraham  had  taken  this  step,  there  never 
occurred  in  his  after  life  a  demand  for  such  a  step 
again,  and  no  act  which  he  might  perform  could  be  in 
the  place  of  baptism.  To  take  a  different  view  is  to 
bring  confusion  into  this  entire  spiritual  history. 
The  place  of  baptism  is  fixed  by  moral  and  spiritual 
laws,  and  ten  thousand  years  hence  such  an  act  will 
be  demanded  at  precisely  this  point  of  spiritual  his- 
tory. Thousands  of  years  ago  it  was  so.  As  long  as 
man  is  man  and  God  is  God,  it  will  be  so.  An  act 
like  baptism  will  be  demanded  at  just  this  point  and 
nowhere  else.  If  this  be  true,  circumcision  could  not 
occupy  the  place  now  occupied  by  Christian  baptism. 
But  circumcision  is  called  "a  seal"  of  Abraham's 
"righteousness  of  faith"  (Rom.  iv.  11),  and  is  not 
baptism  a  seal  of  the  Christian's  faith?  The  Scrip- 
tures now^here  speak  of  it  as  a  seal  of  anything,  and 
it  does  not  possess  the  nature  of  a  seal.  It  is  a  sign 
of  something,  but  a  sign  and  a  seal  are  not  the  same. 

A  seal  is  by  its  nature  an  abiding  mark^  and  a  mo- 

222 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH  ^ 

mentary  act  is  not  such  a  mark.*  If  an  act  of  pro- 
fession can  be  a  seal,  Abraham  already  had  that  seal 
before  his  circumcision,  since  he  had,  in  some  way, 
made  a  profession.  But  circumcision  was  an  abiding 
marh  of  a  nature  that  no  act  can  be.  There  is,  how- 
ever, something  in  the  history  of  Christian  conversion 
that  is  called  a  seal,  and  conforms  to  the  nature  of  a 
seal  in  that  it  is  both  a  sign  and  an  abiding  mark. 
This  is  the  Holy  Spirit  placed  in  the  heart  (Eph.  i. 
13;  iv.  30)  of  the  convert.  It  is  an  evidence  of  son- 
ship  (Gal.  iv.  6)  as  long  as  it  abides,  and  its  absence 
is  an  evidence  that  the  professor  is  no  longer  Christ's 
(Rom.  viii.  9).  The  Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed  either 
after  baptism  or  in  it.  It  took  place  in  Christ's  bap- 
tism immediately  after  the  physical  act,  and  so  closely 
as  to  form  part  of  one  transaction.  In  either  case, 
the  physical  act  of  baptism  could  not  possibly  stand 
in  the  place  of  circumcision,  though  something  re- 
ceived in  connection  with  it  might.  If  it  be  asked 
whether  this  close  association  does  not  lend  some 
color  to  the  contention  that  baptism  comes  in  place 
of  circumcision,  I  answer,  not  to  the  truth-seeker. 
The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  baptism.  Propin- 
quity may  help  an  unscrupulous  disputant  to  confuse 
distinctions,  but  the  truth  is  not  for  such. 

But  this  leads  us  to  ask  another  question:  AYhat  do 
we  mean  by  the  Holy  Spirit's  coming  in  the  place  of 
circumcision?  Is  it  meant  that  when  Christianity 
was  originated  in  the  mind  of  its  Founder,  he  placed 
anything  in  it  to  satisfy  the  fancy  of  having  some- 
thing answering  to  circumcision;    or  that  when  God 


♦The  Standard  Dictionary  places  acts  among  the  definitions 
of  a  seal,  but  it  does  so  only  on  the  authority  of  those  theolo- 
gians who  claim  that  baptism  is  a  seal. 

223 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

instituted  circumcision,  he  did  so  for  the  purpose  of 
having  something  to  prefigure  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  that  the  nature  of  the  rite  was  modified 
with  any  such  view?  There  is  no  ground  for  any  such 
supposition.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  the  Chris- 
tian convert  because  he  needs  it,  and  for  no  other 
reason,  without  any  regard  to  the  fact  that  any  such 
thing  as  circumcision  ever  existed.  Circumcision 
served  as  a  seal;  it  chances  that  the  much-needed 
Holy  Spirit  serves  as  a  seal — that  is  all.  There  is  no 
more  reason  for  saying  that  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  in 
phice  of  circumcision,  than  there  is  for  saying  that 
the  seal  on  the  deed  of  a  piece  of  land  comes  in 
place  of  circumcision.  They  both  act  as  seals,  and  in 
that  resemble  each  other;  nothing  more.  The  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  baptism,  and  everything  else  is  in 
Christianity  because  it  is  needed,  and  for  no  other 
reason.  Circumcision  was  for  the  purpose  of  mark- 
ing off  a  people  in  whom  the  prouiise  to  Abraham 
should  be  fulfilled.  Abraham  was  chosen,  to  be  the 
father  of  this  favored  people  because  of  his  distin- 
guishing faith.  The  establishment  of  this  rite  was, 
therefore,  indirectly  a  compliment— a  mark  of  ap- 
proval— to  his  faith;  and  as  it  was  an  abiding  mark, 
it  could  fitly  be  called  a  "seal  of  his  righteousness  of 
faith."  But  he  did  not  specially  need  it  any  more 
than  any  other  man  needs  an  expression  of  approval. 
Had  h^  needed  it,  the  need  would  have  existed  sooner 
than  fourteen  years  after  the  faith  to  which  it  re- 
ferred took  place.  The  need  of  circumcision  came 
when  the  boy  was  about  to  be  born  through  whom 
that  seed  should  come,  and  it  was  then  instituted. 
Its  relation  to  Abraham's  faith  was  incidental,  though 

it  was  on  that  account  no  less  real. 

224 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

We  should  not  dismiss  this  head  without  noticing  a 
passage  in  Colossians  (ch.  ii.  10-13)  in  which  circum- 
cision is  spoken  of  in  connection  with  baptism.  It 
reads:  '*And  in  him  ye  are  made  full,  who  is  the  head 
of  all  principality  and  power;  in  whom  ye  were  also 
circumcised  with  a  circumcision  not  made  with  hands, 
in  the  putting  off  of  the  body  of  the  flesh,  in  the 
circumcision  of  Christ;  having  been  buried  with  him 
in  baptism,  wherein  ye  were  also  raised  with  him 
through  faith  in  the  working  of  God,  who  raised  him 
from  the  dead.  And  you,  being  dead  through  your 
trespasses  and  the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh,  you, 
I  say,  did  he  quicken  together  with  him,  having  for- 
given us  all  our  trespasses,"  etc. 

Paul  had  continually  to  contend  with  Judaizers, 
who  claimed  that  his  converts  should  be  circumcised 
and  keep  the  law  of  Moses.  How  should  he  meet 
them?  Had  there  been  any  rite  in  Christianity  which 
occupied  the  place  which  was  occupied  by  circum- 
cision in  the  old  dispensation,  Paul  could  have  at 
once  pointed  to  it  and  shown  that  it  fulfilled  the  pur- 
pose of  circumcision;  but  there  being  no  such  rite, 
he  seizes  upon  a  symbolical  interpretation  of  circum- 
cision founded  in  the  character  of  the  act  as  a  cutting 
off,  and  declares  that  it  is  fulfilled  in  the  putting  off 
of  the  body  of  sin  in  conversion.  In  Rom.  ii.  28,29  he 
declares  that  true  circumcision  is  not  physical,  but 
spiritual:  *'For  he  is  not  a  Jew  which  is  one  out- 
wardly; neither  is  that  circumcision  which  is  out- 
ward in  the  flesh :  but  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one  in- 
wardly; and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the 
spirit,  not  in  the  letter" ;  and  in  this  passage  (Col.  ii. 
11)  he  declares  that  it  is  made  without  hands,  thus 
excluding  the  possibility  of  making  physical  baptism 
15  225 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

the  Christian  representative  of  circumcision.  But  he 
immediately  speaks  of  baptism  as  though  that  were 
the  act  in  which  the  spiritual  putting  away  of  the  old 
life  takes  place;  and  in  Kom.  vi.  2,3,  he  definitely 
locates  death  to  sin,  or  this  severance  from  the  old 
life,  in  baptism.  Does  this  not,  then,  make  baptism 
the  representative  of  circumcision?  Not  the  physical 
act.  It  does  make  a  spiritual  act  which  takes  place 
in  baptism  such  representative,  but  distinctly  ex- 
cludes the  physical  act  from  any  such  place  by  declar- 
ing that  that  which  stands  for  circumcision  is  done 
without  hands.  Physical  baptism  is  the  investiture  of 
a  spiritual  act  symbolized  by  circumcision.  But  cir- 
cumcision occupied  no  such  place  either  with  Abra- 
ham or  his  seed.  It  was  to  neither  the  investiture  of 
the  spiritual  act  of  "putting  off"  sin.  With  Abraham 
it  came  many  years  after  his  justification,  and  with  his 
posterity  it  was  performed  in  infancy  many  years 
before  such  a  spiritual  act  was  possible.  Circum- 
cision did  not  serve  the  purpose  nor  occupy  the  place 
of  baptism  in  the  spiritual  history  of  the  subjects. 
They  are  different  acts  performed  on  different  sub- 
jects for  different  purposes.  Baptism  stands  in  place 
of  that  act  in  Abraham's  unwritten  history  in  which 
he  made  a  profession  when  he  entered  upon  the  ser- 
vice of  the  living  God,  and  in  place  of  no  other. 

^2.  Differences  between  Abraham's  Faith  and 
Christian  Faith. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  Abraham's  faith  only 
in  its  correspondences  with  Christian  faith,  but  it 
would  not  be  true  to  say  that  there  are  no  differences. 
Let  us  briefly  notice  some  of  these. 

1.     Christian  faith  differs  from  Abraham's  faith  in 

its  objective  content.     The  object  of  Abraham's  faith 

226 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

was  the  true  and  living  God  and,  specifically,  such 
promises  as  God  made  to  him.  Christian  faith  em- 
braces all  these  and  more.  It  is  faith  not  only  in  God 
but  in  Christ  as  his  more  perfect  manifestation.  It 
includes,  therefore,  personal  trust  in  Christ  as  God's 
son  and  involves  an  acceptance  of  the  chief  evidences 
of  his  sonship,  such  as  his  resurrection,  etc.  Speci- 
fically, it  embraces  the  promises  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

2.  The  work  of  Christ  has  effected  a  profound 
change  in  the  nature  of  faith  itself.  The  life  of 
Christ  has  been  to  the  world  a  spiritual  contagion; 
and  this  new  vision  that  came  into  its  history  has 
been  the  most  wonderful  thing  that  has  happened  to 
mankind.  The  cross  of  Christ  has  broken  the  heart 
of  the  world.  It  has  been  the  glad  sorrow  of  nineteen 
centuries.  It  has  hushed. all  rollicking  joy,  which  is 
of  the  animal,  with  a  sublimer,  deeper  passion.  The 
gospel  story  is  higher  than  heroism  and  sweeter  than 
mother-love,  and  it  moves  the  heart  with  a  strange 
power.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  Christian  faith  is 
the  birth  of  a  new  passion.  It  palpitates  with  love, 
and  it  is  through  love  that  it  works.  In  its  emotional 
element  Abraham's  faith  did  not  reach  this  height. 
God's  goodness  to  him  was  not  without  its  effect,  and 
brought  him  into  an  attitude  oi  friendship  with  God.* 
But  friendship  is  a  weaker  term  than  love,  and  Chris- 
tian love  is  the  highest  form  of  love  known  to  our 
race. 

3.  Out  of  this  love  grows  another  fact.  Christ's 
great  love  could  not  stop  at  inviting  men  to  a  friendly 

*  Jas.  ii.  23.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  this  friendship 
was  a  mere  condescension  on  the  part  of  God.  The  friendship 
was  mutual,  as  the  history  indicates. 

227 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

relationship  with  him,  but  yearning]}^  called  them 
into  the  most  intimate  union — a  solidarity  of  affection 
which  breaks  down  all  lines  of  separation  and  brings 
all  into  one.  Hence  his  pro:ffer  to  mankind  is  that 
they  shall  come  into  union  with  him,  and  the  faith 
which  accepts  this  proffer  becomes  an  act  of  union 
with  Christ.  The  relation  of  most  men  to  their 
deities  had  been  that  of  subjects  to  a  ruler;  Abra- 
ham's relation  transcended  this  and  became  that  of 
friendship  with  a  heavenly  Friend;  but  the  Christian 
relation  is  the  sublime  miracle  of  love  realized  in 
complete  oneness. 

4.  Accentuating  this,  and  furnishing  it  complete 
support,  is  another  thing  peculiar  to  Christianity — 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  belongs  to  the 
establishment  of  the  higher  and  closer  relationship 
brought  about  by  Christ,  and  is  the  crowning  glory  of 
the  Christian  dispensation.  It  makes  it  a  "ministra- 
tion of  the  spirit,"  and  this  is  its  distinguishing  feat- 
ure. 

These  are  very  great  di:fferences,  and  the  question 
at  once  arises  how  this  will  affect  the  validity  of 
Paul's  argument.  The  fact  that  Abraham  was  justi- 
fied by  faith  would  furnish  no  evidence  that  a  faith 
lacking  in  any  of  the  essential  features  of  Abraham's 
faith  would  be  counted  for  righteousness,  but  it  would 
be  excellent  evidence  that  a  faith  containing  all  that 
Abraham's  faith  did,  and  much  more,  would  be  ac- 
cepted. 

%3.     PaiiVs  Estimate  of  this  Relation. 

Before  leaving  Abraham's  faith  it  will  be  interesting 
to  inquire  how  far  Paul's  view  of  it  accords  with  what 
we  have  found.    Our  means  for  doing  this  are  limited, 

since   he   nowhere   enters    into   a   discussion   of  the 

228 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

nature  of  faith,  but  in  his  argument  in  Romans  and 
Galatians  i.s  simply  concerned  with  showing  that  justi- 
fication is  by  faith  rather  than  by  the  works  of  the 
law.  His  references  to  Abraham's  faith,  however, 
serve  to  show  us  something  of  his  view  regarding 
its  nature. 

We  have  already  seen  that  he  regarded  that  faith 
that  was  said  to  have  been  counted  for  righteousness 
as  being  trunt.  In  speaking  of  it  in  Rom.  iv.  he  also 
recognizes  it  as  strong  faith  and  as  involving  a  belief 
in  the  miraculous.  That  he  regarded  it  as  loyal  we 
cannot  question  when  we  consider  how  strongly  he 
insists  on  loyalty  in  Christian  faith,  preaching  every- 
where "repentance  toward  God  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  A  further  indication  of  his  esti- 
mate of  Abraham's  faith  is  to  be  found  in  a  difference 
of  terms  by  which  he  designates  Abraham's  faith  and 
that  of  Christian  conversion.  Speaking  of  Christian 
faith  in  his  letter  to  the  Galatians  (ch.  ii.  16),  he  says: 
*'Yet  knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works 
of  the  law,  save  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  even 
we  believed  on  (Trto-reveti/  cis)  Christ  Jesus,  that  we 
might  be  justified  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  not  by  the 
works  of  the  law." 

Winer  defines  Trto-reuetv  ek  with  the  accusative  of  the 
person,  as  "in  faith  to  resign  one's  self  unto  any  one, 
to  profess  one's  self  a  believer  on  one,  fide  se  ad 
aliquem  appUcare'^  (in  faith  to  unite  one's  self  to  any 
one).*  Thayer's  Lexicon  defines  the  phrase  as  '*^o 
have  faith  directed  unto^  believing  or  in  faith  to  give 
one's  self  up  to  Jesus,  etc."t 

*Winer's  Gratnmar  of  New  Testament  Greek.     §31,  5. 

fThayer's  N.  T.  Greek  Lexicon,  sub  voce.  We  shall  have  oc- 
casion to  give  this  phrase  an  independent  examination  further 
on.  Here,  however,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  these  standard 
authorities.  229 


MOEAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Both  these  defiDitions  contain  the  element  of  sur- 
render to  Christ,  and  this  is  the  believing  which  Paul 
declares  to  be  the  condition  of  justification.  We 
have  already  quoted  Cremer's  Lexicon  as  saying  that 
"with  Paul  the  element  of  unreserved  trust  occupies 
the  first  place,  with  the  signification  'unreservedly, 
without  demur  of  word  or  act,  to  give  one's  self  up  to 
the  God  of  our  salvation.'  " 

Thus  Paul  understands  that  the  faith  of  conversion 
embraces  self-surrender,  or  a  giving  of  one's  self  up 
to  Christ.  But  he  does  not  speak  of  Abraham's  faith 
in  any  such  way.  When  speaking  of  the  faith  that 
was  reckoned  unto  Abraham  for  righteousness,  he 
simply  says:  "And  Abraham  believed  God  (Trio-reijeiv 
Ttvt )  and  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for  righteousness" 
(Rom.  iv.  3).  Now,  this  TTLcrrcveLv  TLVL  means  simply 
tri(,st.  Winer  defines  it  as:  ^'credere,  con fidere  ali qui'' 
(to  trust,  to  confide  in  any  one).*  Thayer's  Lexicon 
gives  it  as  simply,  "^o  trust  .  .  .  God  promising  a 
thing."  There  is  nothing  in  this  phrase  expressive  of 
self-surrender;  it  means  simply  trust,  and  does  not, 
lil?:e  7rto-T€vetv  CIS  Ttva,  represent  an  act  which  embraces 
both  surrender  and  trust.  But  what  is  still  more 
striking  is  the  fact  that  Paul,  in  the  same  connection, 
designates  Abraham's  faith  and  that  of  the  Christian 
convert  by  terms  expressive  of  different  acts.  In 
Rom.  iv.  3  he  says:  "Abraham  believed  God  (Trto-revW 
rtn),  and  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for  righteous- 
ness," and  then  proceeds  to  say;  "Now  to  him  that 
worketh,  the  reward  is  not  reckoned  as  of  grace,  but 
as  of  debt.  But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but  be- 
lieveth   on  him   {incTTevuv  iirl  TLvd)  that  justifieth   the 


'Winer's  Grammar,  §31,  5. 

230 


ABRAHAM  S   FAITH 

ungodly,  his  faith  is  reckoned  for  righteousness." 
To  the  phrase  Tna-revav  iwl  TLvd  Winer  gives  the  same 
definition  as  to  Tna-Tevav  ets  TLvd,  and  it  will  be  seen,  when 
we  come  to  examine  these  phrases,  that  they  are  but 
different  forms  expressive  of  the  same  act.  Paul, 
when  arguing  from  Abraham's  faith  to  the  faith  of 
conversion,  designates  them  by  terms  having  a  differ- 
ent meaning.  He  also  has  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
faith  of  conversion  again  in  the  24th  verse  of  this  same 
chapter,  and  designates  it  by  the  same  term  (^ma-evcLv 
im  Ttva),  while  he  refers  again  to  Abraham's  faith  in 
Gal.  iii.  6,  designating  it,  precisely  as  he  does  here, 
by  the  phrase  mo-reuW  rtn  ?  These  different  designa- 
tions occur  side  by  side,  and  in  an  argument  which 
would  incline  Paul  to  use  either  the  same  term  or 
terms  having  an  equivalent  meaning,  and  they  can 
hardly  be  accidental.  It  seems  plain,  therefore,  that 
Paul  did  not  recognize  Abraham's  faith  to  which  he 
refers  as  containing  self-surrender,  while  he  certainly 
did  recognize  this  element  in  the  faith  of  conversion; 
and  in  these  respects  his  language  is  precisely  in 
accord  with  what  we  have  discovered  regarding  both. 
But  this  fact  has  a  further  significance.  We  cannot 
for  a  moment  suppose  that  Paul  would  teach  that  any 
one  could  be  justified  who  was  not  loyal  to  God;  but 
it  is  the  office  of  repentance  to  make  one  loyal,  and 
repentance  necessarily  issues  in  self-surrender.  Thus 
Paul  must  have  recognized  that  Abraham  repented 
and  surrendered  himself  to  God  sometime.  But  he 
does  not  find  self-surrender  in  the  act  of  believing 
which  he  refers  to  as  having  been  counted  to  Abraham 
for  righteousness.  Unless  Abraham  was  justified 
before     repentance     and     self-surrender,    therefore, 

these  mental  acts  must  have  taken  place  before  that 

231 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

time.  This  is  precisely  what  we  have  found  by  an 
examination  of  the  case.  Paul's  language  is  consist- 
ent with  no  other  view;  and  we  find  that,  in  so 
far   as   his  language   throws    light   on   the   question, 

his  view  was  that  advocated  in  these  pages. 

232 


PART  II 


THE  SCRIPTURAL  EVIDENCE  REGARDING 

THE  NATURE  OF  FAITH  AND  ITS 

RELATION  TO  BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHAT  IS  THE   SPIRITUAL    ACT     DENOTED    BY 
AND   WHERE   DOES   IT   TAKE  PLACE? 

§i.  Faith  according,  to  Christ,  according  to  John, 
and  according  to  Paul. 

Our  argument  on  the  nature  of  faith  and  its  rela- 
tion to  baptism  has  thus  far  been  mainly  philosophi- 
cal. We  now  proceed  to  examine  the  Scripture 
teaching  on  this  subject.  First,  let  us  inquire  what 
is  the  nature  of  that  faith  which  is  made  the  great 
condition  of  Christian  salvation.  We  can  best  do 
this  by  viewing  it  at  its  origin. 

Personal  faith  in  Christ  began  during  Christ's 
earthly  ministry;  and  no  examination  of  its  nature 
and  relationship  can  be  satisfactory  which  shall  fail 
to  view  it  at  that  stage  of  its  history.  It  is  there  that 
we  not  only  see  it  in  its  beginnings,  but  find  the 
utterances  of  Christ  himself  regarding  it;  and  it  was 
these  teachings  of  the  Master  which  gave  to  the 
apostles  their  conception  of  faith.  Inasmuch,  there- 
fore, as  the  apostles  nowhere  give  an  elaborate 
definition  of  faith,  these  teachings  become  of  the 
highest  importance  in  enabling  us  to  understand  their 

language   on  this   subject.      What  faith  meant  with 

233 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

Christ  it  meant  with  the  apostles,  in  its  specifically 
Christian  sense. 

Among  the  terms  by  which  faith  is  designated, 
there  is  one  phrase  which,  by  reason  both  of  its  limit- 
ing character  and  of  its  frequent  use,  specially  claims 
our  attention.  It  is  Tna-Tevecv  eh  with  an  accusative  of 
the  person — to  "believe  o?i"  Christ,  *'o?i  him,"  "o?i 
me,"  etc.  It  is  evident  at  a  glance  that,  whatever 
may  be  the  meaning  of  this  phrase,  it  applies  to 
personal  faith.  The  action  of  the  verb  "believe" 
terminates  on  a  perso7i,  not  on  simple  facts  or  truths. 
The  phrase  is  a  designation  of  personal  faith  in 
Christ.  It  is  used  a  great  number  of  times  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  by  different  writers.  It  is  found 
more  than  thirty  times  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  and 
is  used  also  by  Peter  (Acts  x.  43),  by  Paul  (Acts  xix- 
4  and  Gal.  ii.  16),  and  often  by  Christ  himself;  or,  at 
least,  its  equivalent  in  the  vernacular  in  which  he 
spoke.  It  was  the  familiar  form  for  designating 
personal  faith  in  Christ.* 

What,  then,  is  the  sense  in  which  this  phrase  was 
used  in  this  early  stage  of  its  history? 

Christ  says  in  John  vi.  35:  "I  am  the  bread  of  life: 
he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  not  hunger,  and  he  that 
believeth  on  (et?)  me  shall  never  thirst."  We  have 
here,  of  course,  a  case  of  parallelism,  and,  according 
to  Winer,  of  synonymous  parallelism,  in  which  the 
two   parallel   clauses   express   the    same   thought   in 

*Buttmann,  having  said  that  pis feuein  was  often  used  in  a  decid- 
edly different  sense  after  the  introduction  of  the  new  religion, 
from  that  which  it  formerly  bore,  proceeds  to  say  regarding  the 
phrase  pisteicein  eis  tina^  that  "the  word  \_pisteuein'\  in  this  new 
sense,  when  connected  with  nouns,  gradually  settled  upon  this 
construction." — Grammar  of  New  Testament  Greek.  See  pp. 
173, 174.  This,  therefore,  was  the  common  designation  of  this 
personal  faith. 

234 


WHAT   IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT   DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

different  language.  If  we  examine  the  last  term  of 
each  clause,  we  shall  readily  see  that  this  is  so.  The 
"hunger"  and  the  ^'thirst"  are  but  different  figures 
expressive  of  the  want  of  spiritual  nourishment;  and 
this  points  to  a  similar  relation  of  the  two  first  terms. 
As  hunger  and  thirst  are  but  different  ways  of  ex- 
pressing the  same  thing,  so  coming  to  Christ  and 
believing  on  him  are  but  different  descriptions  of 
the  same  act.  What  is  involved  in  coming  to  Christ 
he  himself  informs  us  in  another  place.  In  Luke  xiv. 
26,  he  says:  *'If  any  man  cometh  unto  me,  and 
hateth  not  his  own*  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and 
children,  and  brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple."  There  can  be 
no  acceptable  coming  to  Christ  which  does  not  involve 
all  this — the  most  complete  self-surrender  and  devote- 
ment  to  him.  This,  then,  is  implied  in  the  act  of 
believing  on  him. 

But  the  passage  in  John  vi.  35,  has  other  infor- 
mation for  us.  The  first  clause  of  the  couplet  de- 
clares that  "he  that  cometh  to  me  [Jesus]  shall  not 
hunger."  When  a  man  is  hungry,  what  does  he  do 
that  he  may  cease  to  be  hungry?  He  eats.  Eating, 
therefore,  implied  in  this  physical  comparison,  cor- 
responds to  coming  to  Christ.  Coming  to  Christ 
accomplishes  spiritually  what  eating  accomplishes  in 
the  physical  sense.  The  same  is  true  of  believing  on 
Christ  and  the  slaking  of  thirst;  for  it  is  said,  "He 
that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst."  What 
drinking  is  to  the  thirsty,  that  believing  on  Jesus  is 
said  to  be  to  the  spiritually  famished.  If  it  be  ques- 
tioned whether  coming  to  Christ  can  strictly  be  held 
to  represent  eating,  and  believing  on  him,  drinking, 

it   is   most   certain   that    the   statements   "shall   not 

235 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

hunger"  and  "shall  never  thirst"  can  mean  no  less 
than  that  the  man  who  comes  to  Christ,  or  believes 
on  him,  comes  into  possession  of  the  food  supply,  so 
that  he  may  partake  of  it  at  will.  But  this  is  appro- 
jyriafion.  And  if  coming  to  Christ  and  believing  on 
him  do  correspond  respectively  to  eating  and  drink- 
ing, the  other  meaning  will  still  not  be  excluded;  for 
be  it  observed  that  the  second  clause  reads:  "He 
that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst."  The  attain- 
ment, therefore,  is  not  simply  a  single  slaking  of 
thirst,  but  a  coming  into  possession  of  the  boundless 
stores  of  the  divine  grace.  It  is,  in  short,  the  appro- 
priation of  the  blessings  of  salvation.  The  language 
teaches  that  he  who  believes  on  Jesus  thereby  comes 
into  possession  of  these  blessings. 

The  passage  has  still  other  light  for  us;  for,  what  is 
this  bread  that  is  spiritually  eaten  by  those  coming  to 
or  believing  on  Jesus?  Christ  says  in  the  same  verse, 
"I  am  the  bread  of  life."  To  come  to  Christ,  or 
believe  "on  him,  therefore,  is  to  appropriate  him  as 
our  source  of  life — to  come  into  a  vital  relation  to 
him.  Jesus  then  proceeds  to  elaborate  this  thought 
much  further,  during  which  he  says  (v.  57),  "He  that 
eateth  me  he  also  shall  live  because  of  me."  This 
faith,  therefore,  is  an  appropriation  of  Christ.  In 
verse  47,  referring  to  this  same  faith,  he  says,  "He 
that  believeth  hath  eternal  life."  The  appropriation 
is,  therefore,  also  an  appropriation  of  life. 

Jesus'  language  was  misunderstood  and  caused 
many  of  his  disciples  to  stumble.  He  therefore  ex- 
plains his  meaning  as  not  referring  to  the  eating  of 
his  flesh,  and  says,  "It  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth; 
the  flesh  profiteth  nothing;"    and  then  proceeds   to 

sav,    "the  words   that   I    have   spoken  unto  you  are 

236 


WHAT   IS   THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT    DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

spirit,  and  are  life"*  What  does  this  mean?  Are  we 
to  understand  that  all  Jesus  has  meant  by  these  strong 
representations  of  eating  him,  etc.,  was  the  simple 
act  of  believing  his  words  to  be  true?  Has  the 
mountain  labored  and  brought  forth  a  mouse?  Such 
a  view  would  empty  all  these  intensely  personal 
representations  of  their  meaning;  nor  is  it  true  that 
such  a  believing  would  be  a  coming  to  Christ,  for  men 
may  believe  Christ's  words  without  coming  to  him. 
If,  however,  the  eating  of  Christ's  words  embraces 
all  that  the  hearty  acceptance  of  them  implies,  it 
means  all  that  I  have  claimed  for  faith.  There  are 
no  stronger  representations  of  personal  appropriation 
and  vital  connection  with  Christ  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, than  are  found  in  the  language  of  this  chapter. 
The  faith  is  personal  faith,  not  the  mere  belief  of 
words,  and  the  appropriation  is  an  appropriation  of 
Christ  and  his  salvation.  To  believe  on  Jesus  is, 
never  to  thirst;  it  is  to  come  into  possession  of  the 
source  of  all  spiritual  blessings. 

Passing  to  another  passage  (Jn.  iii.  36),  we  read: 
*'He  that  believeth  on  [ets]  the  Son  hath  eternal  life; 
but  he  that  obeyeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life, 
but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  Here  believ- 
ing on  Jesus  is  placed  in  antithesis  to  not  obeying 
him.  To  believe  on  him  is  the  opposite  of  dis- 
obedience. A  moment's  reflection  must  make  it 
clear  that  believing  on  the  Son  here  is  made  to  em- 
brace obedience,  surrender.  Did  it  not  do  so,  the 
statement  would  be  untrue.  If  the  believing  em- 
braced anything  less  than   obedience,    it   would   not 


*It  is  well  to  note  that,  according  to  the  Revised  Version,  the 
**spirit"  here  spoken  of,  is  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  word  "spirit" 
is  not  capitalized. 

237 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

bring  life,  since  the  second  statement  informs  us 
that  the  lack  of  obedience  Avill  cut  off  from  life,  and 
expose  to  the  wrath  of  God. 

In  Jn.  i.  11,  12,  we  have  this  language:  "He  came 
unto  his  own,  and  they  that  were  his  own  received 
him  not.  But  as  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave 
he  the  right  to  become  children  of  God,  even  to  them 
that  believe  on  his  name."  Here,  receiving  Christ 
and  believing  on  his  name  are  used  as  different  desig- 
nations of  the  same  act.  To  believe  on  (ets)  Christ  is 
to  receive  him,  and  thus  faith  becomes  appropriative. 
But  does  not  the  fact  that  those  who  believe  on  him 
si m ply  have  the  right  to  become  children  of  God_ 
indicate  that  still  another  step  (or  other  steps)  is. 
to  be  taken  before  such  sonship  can  be  gained?  It 
would  be  so  if  becoming  a  child  ot  God  w^ere  wholly 
the  act  of  the  convert.  But  such  is  not  the  case. 
The  act  of  becoming  sons,  or  children,  of  God  has 
its  divine  paijt,  which  is  well  represented  by  Paul  as 
an  ''adoption,"  and  is  wholly  a  divine  act,  performed 
after  the  candidate  has  complied  with  the  condition 
which  entitles  him  to  it.*     The  word  used  by  John 


*This  conception  is  not  foreign  to  John's  thought,  although  he 
does  not  use  the  word  adoption.  In  1  Tn.  iii.  l.he  says:  *'Behold 
what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that 
we  should  be  called  the  children  of  God."  This  is  what  is  done 
in  adoption — admission  to  the  rank  and  privileges  of  children. 
The  right  or  privilege  to  receive  this  high  distinction  is  doubt- 
less what  John  refers  to  in  the  words  under  consideration. 

It  should  be  rememherprl  thnj-  noilhpr  fnith,  nor  any  other  act  on 
man's  part  can  of  itself  put  him  in  possession  of  salvafi'^n,  pr  jn^^- 
'tiiication.  or  divine  sonship.  Tliese  are  acts  which  are  performed 
by  God  himselj,  All  we  can  do  is  to  comply  with  certain  condi- 
tions,  in  view  of  which  God  grants  these  blessings.  So  far  as  our 
agency  is  concerned,  faith  appropriates  and  puts  us  in  possession 
of  these  blessings;  l^ut  it  is  only  as  God  meets  us  in  the  act, 
and  confers  the  blessing.  All  that  we  can  do  only  entities  us  to 
receive  the  favor.  John  elsewhere  speaks  of  faith  as  appropria- 
tive and  possessive,  and  this  statement  differs  from  the  others 

238 


WHAT   IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT   DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

in  this  passage  means  to  become,  to  he  made  children 
of  God,  not  to  make  themselves  children  of  God  by 
some  further  act.  This  faith  admits  the  believer 
to   adoption. 

Of  course,  this  faith,  this  appropriative  spiritual 
act,  must  take  place  under  the  divinely  appointed 
conditions.  What  these  are,  will  appear  later.  To 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  to  perform  the 
human  spiritual  part  in  becoming  a  child  of  God. 

It  may  be  well  to  remark  in  passing,  that  this  phrase 
— TTLorTeveiv  CIS  rtm — has  two  derivative  senses,  growing 
out  of  the  one  already  indicated.  In  Mt.  xviii.  6 
Christ  says:  "But  whoso  shall  cause  one  of  these 
little  ones  which  believe  on  [ets]  me  to  stumble  it 
were  profitable  for  him,"  etc.  Here  believing  on 
Jesus  does  not  refer  to  the  act  of  coming  to  him,  of 
surrendering  to  him,  of  receiving  him,  etc.,  but  to 
the  continuance  oi  the  loyalty  and  trust,  or  adherence, 
which  began  in  that  act.  It  is  the  prolongation  of  the 
original  act  into  the  succeeding  life.  This  is  a  per- 
fectly natural  modification  of  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  and  can  cause  no  confusion,  since  it  cannot 
possibly  be  applied  to  conversion. 

An  example  of  the  other  derivative  use  of  this 
phrase  will  be  found  in  Jn.  ii.  11.  The  historian 
says:    "This  beginning  of  signs  did  Jesus  in  Cana  of 


only  in  recognizing  the  divine  agency  which  is  always  present, 
and  without  which  neither  faith  nor  anything  else  could  be 
appropriative. 

Prof.  Geo.  B.  Stevens  says,  regarding  this  passage:  "But  the 
word  exousia  here  is  best  taken,  not  as  referring  to  a  mere  future 
possibility  which  faith  opens,  but  as  emphasizing  the  loftiness  of 
the  privilege  of  becoming  sons  of  God  which  is  accorded  to 
believers."  And  again:  "Faith,  therefore,  does  not  merely  make 
sonshiptoGod  possible;  it  is  the  actual  entrance  into, the  relation 
of  sonship  so  far  as  man  has  to  do  with  constituting  that  rela- 
tion."— Johannine  Theology^  pp.  251,  252. 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Galilee,  and  manifested  his  glory;  and  his  disciples 
believed  on  him."  Here  it  is  declared  that  those  who 
had  already  believed  on  Jesus,  or  become  his  disciples, 
again  believed  on  him.  We  have  here  what  may  be 
called  an  inte^isive  meaning,  which  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  cannot  embrace  all  that  was  involved  in  the 
first  act.  These  disciples  did  not  come  to  him,  and 
did  not  receive  him,  in  this  second  act,  because  in  the 
nature  of  the  case  these  steps  could  not  be  repeated; 
but  this  believing  on  him  implied  all  that  had  pre- 
ceded, and  further  deepened  its  meaning.  The  situa- 
tion calling  for  this  use  of  the  phrase  was  peculiar, 
and  grew  out  of  an  exceptional  condition  during 
Christ's  personal  niinistry.  This  ministry  was  a 
period  of  progressive  self-disclosure  on  the  part  of 
Jesus.  It  was  a  rising  of  the  sun,  with  its  early  fore- 
gleams,  its  subsequent  appearance  above  the  horizon, 
its  struggle  through  obscuring  clouds,  and,  at  last, 
its  resplendent  shining  in  the  heavens.  Not  until  the 
sixteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  do  we  learn  that  even 
his  most  intimate  disciples  believed  in  his  divinity  and 
Messiahship.  Those  who  accepted  him  in  one  charac- 
ter might  soon  be  called  upon  to  acknowledge  him  in 
a  higher.  Thus,  the  disciples  who  had  previously 
believed  on  him  were  led  to  believe  on  him  in  a  higher 
sense  when  they  witnessed  the  miracle  at  Cana.  Not 
until  Jesus'  exaltation  to  heaven  could  faith  reach  its 
highest  content,  and  accredit  him  for  all  that  he  was. 
This  derivative  use  of  the  phrase  is  also  perfectly 
natural,  and  can  occasion  no  confusion,  since  it  can- 
not apply  to  those  who  have  never  before  believed  on 
Jesus. 

It  may  be  added  that  there  is  also  a  lower  or  partial 

sense  in  which  this  phrase  is  sometimes  used.     This 

240 


WHAT   IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT   DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

tendency  runs  throughout  hinguage.  Even  such 
words  as  round,  straight,  true,  perfect,  are  often  used 
below  their  absolute  sense,  and  may  therefore  take 
degrees  of  comparison,  such  as  rounder,  straighter, 
truer,  more  perfect.  When  we  desire  to  speak  of  some 
object,  act,  or  quality  which  possesses  some  of  the 
elements  of  another  object,  or  possesses  its  qualities 
in  some  degree,  poverty  of  language  often  constraius 
us  to  use  the  name  of  that  object  or  quality  to  express 
our  thought.  This  lower  use  of  a  term  does  not 
destroy  its  higher  meaning,  and  the  context  must 
determine  which  meaning  is  intended  in  any  particu- 
lar case.  Such  a  use  of  the  phrase  Trto-re^'eiv  ets  is  found 
in  Jn.  xii.  42:  * 'Nevertheless  even  of  the  rulers  many 
believed  on  him;  but  because  of  the  Pharisees  they 
did  not  confess  him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of 
the  synagogue,  for  they  loved  the  glory  of  men  more 
than  the  glory  of  God."  They  credited  Jesus'  claims 
and,  no  doubt,  were  in  sympathy  with  him,  but  they 
did  not  come  to  him,  obey  him,  nor  i^eceive  him.  They 
did  not  believe  on  him  in  an  acceptable  sense,  for 
their  course  is  spoken  of  with  disapproval.  Their 
faith  fell  short  of  the  essential  element  of  self -sur- 
render. It  did  not,  like  the  believing  on  him  spoken 
of  in  Jn.  iii.  36,  put  them  in  possession  of  eternal  life. 
In  the  light  of  this  examination  it  appears  that  the 
phrase  to  believe  on  {Tna-rcvetv  eU)  Christ,  represents 
the  spiritual  act  of  coming  to  him,  receiving  hiui, 
submitting  to  or  obeying  him.  It  embraces  self-sur- 
render, acceptance,  trust.  We  may  go  further  and 
say  that,  since  it  is  the  act  of  acceptably  coming  to 
him  and  receiving  him,  all  the  spiritual  characteristics 
which  Christ  attaches  to  the  condition  of  divine  ac- 
ceptance, throughout  his  entire  teaching,  are  but 
16  241 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

features  of  this  faith.  It  has  within  it  all  that  the 
heart  must  contain  when  it  comes  to  God,  and  it  is 
the  act  of  laying  all  this  on  his  altar. 

With  these  findings  the  best  modern  schohirship  is 
in  full  accord.  According  to  Thayer's  JST.  T.  Lexicon, 
faith  in  Christ  includes  '^obedience  to  Christ"; 
according  to  Cremer,  it  includes  "a  self-surrendering 
fellowship  [adhesion]";  while  Winer  defines  it  as  in- 
cluding, "in  faith  to  resign  one's  self  unto''  Christ, 
and,  "bo  unite  one's  self  to"  him  (^^fide  se  ad  aliquem 
applicare''^.  Thayer's  Lexicon  also  defines  the  phrase 
Tna-Tcveiv  et?  tov  'Irjaovv  as,  "^0  havc  a  faith  directed  tmto, 
believing  or  in  faith  to  give  one's  self  up  to  Jesus." 
Prof.  Stevens,  after  referring  to  the  passages  above 
considered,  concludes:  "It  is  impossible  that  such 
functions  and  effects  should  be  ascribed  to  any  faith 
which  is  not  in  its  very  nature  a  trustful  surrender  of 
the  soul  to  Christ,  a  self-renouncing  acceptance  of  his 
person,  and  an  entrance  into  life-fellowship  with 
him."* 

Such  is  the  meaning  of  faith  as  described  by  the 
most  characteristic  phrase  representing  it  in  the  apos- 
tolic age.  It  is  an  appropriation  of  Christ  and  his 
salvation;  it  is  obedience,  or  surrender  to  him;  it  is 
the  spiritual  act  of  entering  into  union  with  him.  In 
describing  the  faith  that  justifies,  Paul  uses  this 
phrase.     Did  he  use  it  in  a  similar  sense? 

In  Gal.  ii.  16  he  says:  "Yet  knowing  that  a  man  is 
not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  save  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  believed  on  [ets]  Christ 
Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith  in  Christ." 
And  then  he  says  in  the  next  verse:    "But   if ,  while 


*T/ieJo/ian?iine  Theology^  p.  233. 

242 


WHAT   IS   THE   SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY   FAITH 

we  sought  to  be  justified  in  Christ,"  etc.  When  these 
persons  "believed  on  Christ  Jesus"  that  they  "might 
be  justified  by  faith  in  Christ,"  they  "sought  to  be 
justified  in  Christ."  To  believe  on  (et?)  Christ,  there- 
fore, is  to  enter  into  him.*  It  is  the  spiritual  act  of 
union  with  Christ. 

In  Phil.  iii.  8,  9  Paul  says:  "I  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  gain 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  a  righteous- 
ness of  mine  own,  even  that  which  is  of  the  law;  but 
that  which  is  through  faith  in  Christ,  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  God  by  faith."  This  righteousness 
of  God  (cK,  from,  'which  comes  from  God"t)  by 
faith  (cTTt,  upon  faith,  upon  our  believing  on  Christ) 
is  God's  accounting  us  righteous  in  view  of  our 
faith,!  and  is  equivalent  to  justification.  And  this 
righteousness  (justification)  through  faith  is  spoken 
of  as  being  equivalent  to  being  "found  in  him" 
(Christ).  To  have  this  righteousness  is  to  be  in 
Christ.  This  faith  is  the  act  which  places  us  in  that 
relation. 

In  Gal.  ii.  20  Paul  says:  "I  have  been  crucified 
with  Christ;  yet  I  live;  and  yet  no  longer  I,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me;  and  that  life  which  I  now  live 
in  the  flesh  I  live  in  faith,  the  faith  which  is  in  the 
Son  of  God."     Paul  still   lives  after   his  crucifixion 


*Commenting  on  this  passage,  EUicott  says:  "In  the  formula 
pisteuein  eis  with  ace— less  usual  in  St.  Paul,  but  very  common 
in  St.  John— the  preposition  retains  its  proper  force  [/;//c;],  and 
marks  not  the  mere  direction  of  the  belief  (or  object  towards 
which),  but  the  moFe  strictly  theological  ideas  of  union  and 
incorporation  e^////."— Ellicott's  Commentary  on  Galatians,  in  loc. 
Thus,  while  it  may  not  be  good  English,  the  thought  is  that  of 
believing  i-aro  Christ. 

t  "i\iQ.yQv's  Lexicon y  sub  dikaiosunee. 

X  Ibid. 

243 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

with  Christ,  but  it  is  no  longer  the  old  self-life,  but 
Christ  living  in  him,  and  his  life  is  now  a  life  in  faith, 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God.  To  live  in  faith,  then,  is  to 
have  Christ  live  in  us;  and  thus  faith  puts  u-s  into 
union  with  Christ. 

Perhaps  we  may  add  also  the  statement  of  II.  Cor. 
V.  21,  where  Paul  speaks  of  those  who  are  being 
reconciled  to  God  as  becoming  the  "righteousness 
[justified  ones*]  of  God  in  him"  (Christ),  thus 
placing  justification  in  Christ,  into  whom  faith  must 
bring  us  in  order  to  reach  it. 

Paul's  teachings  therefore  accord  with  those  in 
John  in  making  the  faith  of  salvation  an  act  of  appro- 
priation and  union  with  Christ. 

We  have  in  these  descriptions  of  faith  a  mental 
act  of  that  class  which  in  all  ages  has  been  wont  to 
take  place  in  some  external  act  of  expression.  It  is  a 
social  act.  Surrender  to  another  and  entrance  into 
union  with  another  are  necessarily  social.  It  is  a 
divine-human  greeting  under  conditions  involving  the 
most  intense  feeling.  At  such  times  the  heart  must 
break  silence,  and  scorns  even  words.  It  is  the 
prodigal's  self-surrender.  There  should  be  'the  em- 
brace and  kiss  of  absolution  and  other  acts  of  rein- 
statement. If  there  had  been  no  outstretched  arms, 
the  prodigal  would  have  fallen  on  his  knees,  or  pros- 
trated himself  on  the  ground.  The  heart  must  have 
its  own.  If  there  be  strong  feeling,  there  will  be  a 
desire  for  some  act  at  this  point  in  conversion.  An 
act  appointed  by  the  Redeemer  would  be  more 
precious  to  the  heart  than  any  which  the  convert 
might  himself  select.      Christ  has  appointed  such  an 


*Thayer's  N.  T.  Lexicon,  sub  voce'. 

244 


WHAT   IS   THE    SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY  FAITH 

act — baptism.  It  fulfills  purposes  of  even  wider  im- 
portance. Kneeling  in  the  closet  does  not  stop  a  sin 
which  is  still  being  perpetuated  against  the  Redeemer; 
profession  does  stop  it.  It  also  measures  the  faith  that 
is  being  offered  for  acceptance  that  the  heart  may 
know  that  it  is  sufficient.  This  faith  is  not  only  an 
act  of  self-surrender,  but  also  the  mental  act  of  union 
with  Christ;  it  is  the  soul's  marriage  to  the  Eedeemer. 
The  mental  act  of  giving  and  taking  in  marriage  has 
its  investiture.  There  are  gravest  reasons  why  it 
should  be  so.  This  faith  should  also  have  investiture. 
And  we  shall  see  that  it  has. 

%2.     Paid  Places  this  Spiritual  Act  in  Baptism. 

Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  was  liable  to 
misapprehension.  To  teach  that  a  man  might  be  jus- 
tified by  faith  without  the  works  of  the  law  would 
seem  to  weaken  the  sanctions  of  law;  and  to  claim,  as 
Paul  did,  that  man's  sin  had  caused  a  wonderful 
manifestation  of  divine  grace,  so  that  "where  sin 
abounded,  grace  did  abound  more  exceedingly," 
would  seem  to  put  a  premium  on  sin,  and  raise  the 
question.  Why  not  "continue  in  sin  that  grace  may 
abound"?  Paul's  true  answer  to  this  would  be, 
"Because  there  are  elements  in  this  faith  that  put  such 
a  course  out  of  the  question."  Paul  docs  make  this 
answer,  but  he  affirms  all  this  of  the  spiritual  element 
in  baptism.  He  represents  baptism  as  embracing  a 
two-sided  spiritual  transaction — human  and  divine; 
and  finds  in  the  nature  of  this  a  conclusive  reason 
against  continuance  in  sin.  This  transaction  on  its 
human  side  is  faith;  on  its  divine  side  absolution, 
and  the  divine  indwelling;  in  its  combined  aspect, 
union  with  Christ. 

He  undertakes   to   show  his  readers,  in   Rom.    vi, 

245 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

that  they  have  '*died  to  sin,"  and  he  deduces  this 
from  the  fact  that  they  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ.  "Or  are  ye  ignorant  that  all  who  were  bap- 
tized into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his  death?" 
(v.  3).  In  V.  5  he  says,  "For  if  we  have  become 
united  with  him  by  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall 
be  also  by  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection."  Thus 
men  are  said  to  enter  "into  Christ"  and  to  be 
"united  with  him"  in  baptism.  But  being  in  Christ 
is  a  spiritual  relation,  and  cannot  be  reached  by  any 
merely  physical  act.  There  must  be  in  baptism, 
therefore,  the  spiritual  act  of  entering  into  union 
with  Christ.     But  this  is  faith. 

But  Paul  declares  that  in  entering  into  union  with 
Christ  his  readers  had  "died  to  sin,"  and  he  accord- 
ingly places  this  in  baptism  also.  In  v.  2  he  says: 
"We  who  died  to  sin,  how  shall  we  any  longer  live 
therein?"  and  then  says  (v.  3),  "Or  are  ye  ignorant 
that  all  who  were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were 
baptized  in  his  death?"  The  language  of  v.  2  is  not 
"we  who  have  died,^'  but  "we  who  died.''  The  aorist 
tense  points  to  an  event  occurring  at  some  definite 
time,  and  v.  3  fixes  that  time  as  at  baptism. 

Now,  what  is  meant  by  dying  to  sin?  The  phrase  is 
a  metaphor  expressive  of  separation  from  sin,  or  as 
complete  severance  from  it  as  possible.  When  did 
this  take  place?  Some  may  say,  in  repentance;  but 
was  this  Paul's  idea?  In  repentance  there  is  a  cessa- 
tion of  the  love  of  sin  and  a  purpose  not  to  continue 
its  practice;  but  this  is  not  death  to  sin,  with  Paul. 
He  connects  death  to  sin  with  our  entering  into  union 
with  Christ  (v.  3) ;  but  we  enter  into  union  with 
Christ  not  by  repentance,  but  by  faith.     In  chapter 

vii.  Paul  describes  the  case  of  a  man  who  is  intensely 

246 


WHAT   IS   THE   SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY  FAITH 

loyal  to  right  and  striving  to  do  it  with  an  earnestness 
that  makes  the  struggle  tragic,  but  fails;  and  then 
the  cry  goes  up,  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who 
shall  deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of  this  death?"  The 
answer  is,  "I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  It  is  the  work  of  repentance  to  make  the 
heart  loj^al  to  right,  and  the  case  here  described  has 
that  loyalty  in  a  very  high  degree,  yet  sin  still  has  the 
mastery.  There  is  no  severance  from  it.  Severance 
comes  through  some  kind  of  connection  with  Christ. 
It  is  not  Paul's  idea  that  death  to  sin  comes  through 
repentance,  but  through  union  with  Christ.  Repent- 
ance is  certainly  a  condition  of  its  taking  place,  but 
the  case  is  too  serious  to  be  disposed  of  in  that  way. 
Paul's  image  is  that  of  a  dead  body,  which,  though 
loathed,  as  sin  may  come  to  be  in  repentance,  cannot 
be  escaped  from.  There  can  be  no'  severance  from 
the  power  of  sin  without  help.  This  help  comes 
through  union  with  Christ;  and  there  can  be  no 
breaking  with  sin,  or  death  to  it,  worthy  of  the  name 
that  falls  short  of  laying  hold  on  that  Power  through 
which  alone  rescue  can  come.  But  this  is  faith.  The 
penitent  dies  to  sin  when  he  enters  into  Christ. 
Paul's  whole  theology  hinges  on  the  fact  that  the 
penitent  must  have  help,  or  he  is  lost.  For  this 
reason  he  must  also  unite  with  Christ's  other  self, 
the  church,  the  other  great  saving  power  of  Chris- 
tianity. In  his  connection  with  these  forces  lies  his 
salvation.  He  unites  with  these  in  baptism;  and  if 
the  case  be  as  serious  as  Paul  represents  it,  nothing 
short  of  this  can  constitute  death  to  sin. 

There  is  another  reason  why  death  to  sin  cannot  be 
said  to  take  place  in  repentance.     Many  forms  of  sin 

have  a  self-perpetuating  character,  and  one  of  these 

247 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

forms,  ever  present,  can  only  be  terminated  by  pro- 
fession. As  there  can  be  no  severance  from  sin  while 
we  are  perpetuating  it,  profession  becomes  one  of  the 
elements  in  death  to  sin ;  and  as  baptism  is  the  great 
act  of  Christian  profession,  death  to  sin  is  not  con- 
summated before  it. 

Thus  far  Paul  has  spoken  of  baptism  as  containing 
a  spiritual  element  which  answers  to  the  act  of  believ- 
ing on  (or  into)  Christ,  both  as  defined  by  Christ 
himself,  and,  as  understood  by  Paul.*  In  v.  7  he 
takes  another  step.  Vv.  6  and  7  read:  "Knowing 
this,  that  our  old  man  was  crucified  with  him,  that 
the  body  of  sin  might  be  done  away,  that  so  we  should 
no  longer  be  in  bondage  to  sin ;  for  he  that  hath  died 
is  justified  from  sin."  Thus,  not  only  death  to  sin, 
but  justification  also,  is  placed  in  baptism. 

Paul's  argument,  therefore,  is,  that  in  baptism  his 
readers  entered  into  union  with  Christ  (faith),  that 
in  this  act  they  died  to  sin,  and  that,  having  died  to 
sin,  they  were  also  justified  from  sin.  Thus  he  places 
both  faith  and  justification  in  baptism.  The  same 
thought  appears  under  another  form  in  v.  3,  where 
those  who  are  "baptized  into  Christ"  are  said  to  be 
"baptized  into  his  death,"  where  they  come  into  con- 
tact with  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  cleanses  from  all 
sin.  Speaking  of  this  passage,  Prof.  Sanday  says: 
"The   sprinkling   of  the   blood   of  Christ  seals  that 


*  Neaiider  says:  ''Faith  is  the  spiritual  act  by  virtue  of  which, 
in  surrendering  ourselves  to  him  who  died  for  us,  we  die  to  a  life 
of  sin,  to  the  world,  to  ourselves,  to  all  which  we  were  before, 
and  rise  again  in  his  fellowship,  in  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  to  a 
new  life  devoted  to  him  and  animated  by  him." — PlafUifig  and 
Training,  Bohn  ed.  i.  p.  459;  Am.  ed.  p.  419. 

248 


WHAT    IS    THE    SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

covenant  with  His  people  to    which  baptism  admits 
them."* 

Thus  Paul  in  most  positive  language  places  union 
with  Christ,  death  to  sin,  and  justification  in  baptism. 
Does  he  literally  mean  this,  or  is  he  speaking  figura- 
tively of  spiritual  events  which  have  really  preceded 
baptism,  but  are  formally  represented  by  it?  There 
are  no  intimations  of  any  such  course,  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  nature  of  these  spiritual  acts  which 
could  prevent  their  taking  place  in  baptism.  In  a 
word,  there  are  no  reasons  for  supposing  that  his 
very  positive  language  means  anything  else  than  what 
it  says.  To  interpret  language  figuratively  without 
reason,  is  in  effect  to  cancel  all  literature.  There 
are,  on  the  other  hand,  important  reasons,  moral, 
practical,  and  spiritual,  why  these  spiritual  acts 
should  take  place  in  a  physical  act  like  baptism. 

Prof.  Sanday  paraphrases  the  first  part  of  Paul's 
language  in  this  chapter,  thus:  "Surely  you  do  not 
need  reminding  that  all  of  us  who  were  immersed  or 
baptized,  as  our  Christian  phrase  runs,  *into  Christ,' 
i.  e.,  into  the  closest  allegiance  and  adhesion  to  him, 
were  immersed  or  baptized  into  a  special  relation  to 
his  death.  I  mean  that  the  Christian,  at  his  baptism, 
not  only  professes  obedience  to  Christ,  but  enters 
into  a  relation  to  him  so  intimate  that  it  may  be  de- 
scribed as  an  actual  union, "t  etc.  Commenting  on 
this  language  later,  he  speaks  of  "the  mystical  union 
of  the  Christian  with  Christ,  dating  from  his  bap- 
tism."! He  also  places  being  crucified  with  Christ  in 
baptism ;§    and   further   on   says:     "In    baptism   the 

*  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Romans,  p.  155. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  154.     X  Ibid.,  p.  156.     §  Ibid.,  p.  158. 

249 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

Christian  died  to  his  old  self,  to  all  that  he  had  been, 
whether  Jew  or  Gentile,  before  he  became  a  Chris- 
tian.* 

But  there  is  other  evidence  on  this  subject  of  a 
more  positive  character.  We  have  seen  from  chapter 
vii.  that,  however  earnest  the  effort,  it  is  impossible 
for  us  to  overcome  sin  by  ourselves,  and  that  release 
from  its  power  can  come  only  through  Christ.  We 
are  also  taught  in  this  sixth  chapter  that  in  order  to 
this  end  we  must  stand  in  a  certain  relation  to  Christ, 
known  as  being  in  him,  or  vitally  united  to  him;  but 
we  have  not  yet  learned  what  there  is  in  this  relation 
to  make  it  potent  to  such  a  result.  What,  then,  is 
involved  in  being  in  Christ?  What  does  it  mean  to 
be  in  him? 

Christ  has  spoken  of  this  relation  as  a  mutual  in- 
dwelling— we  in  him  and  he  in  us — and  declared  that 
apart  from  it  we  '*can  do  nothing"  (Jn.  xv.  5  ). 
The  nature  of  the  relation  he  has  illustrated  by  the 
vital  connection  between  the  branch  and  the  vine,  so 
that  the  branch  lives  in  the  vine.  A  similar  relation 
is  sustained  by  a  limb  or  any  part  of  the  human  body 
to  the  body  itself.  It  is  filled  by  the  spirit  or  animat- 
ing principle  of  the  body,  and  is  able  to  resist,  as 
long  as  the  body  lives,  the  influences  that  would 
speedily  produce  putrefaction,  were  it  not  vitalized 
by  this  principle.  A  further  application  may  be  seen 
in  the  food  that  we  eat,  which,  after  undergoing  a 
process  of  digestion,  passes  into  the  current  of  the 
blood  and  is  borne  to  those  parts  needing  repair, 
where,  taking  its  place  as  part  of  the  tissues  of  the 
body,  it  instantly  becomes  alive — is  filled  with,  or  im- 

*  International  Critical  Commentary  on  Romans,  p.  163. 

250 


WHAT   IS    THE   SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY  FAITH 

mersed  in,  the  spirit  which  animates  the  body.  If 
being  in  Christ  involves  anything  analogous  to  this, 
it  must  certainly  be  a  condition  most  potent  for  right- 
eousness.    Does  it? 

Paul  answers  this  question  in  the  eighth  chapter  of 
this  epistle.  After  concluding  in  the  seventh  chapter 
that  release  from  the  power  of  sin  can  be  gained 
only  through  Christ,  he  proceeds  in  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  to  show  how  this  is  done.  He  says  (v.  1) : 
*'There  is,  therefore,  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  What  is  involved  in  being 
in  Christ  that  should  cause  it  to  place  those  who  are 
in  him  beyond  any  condemnation?  **For  the  law 
[power]  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  made 
[not  has  made]  me  free  from  the  law  [power]  of  sin 
and  of  death."  To  be  in  Christ,  then,  is  to  be  in  con- 
tact with  the  Spirit  of  life,  whose  energizing  power 
breaks  the  power  of  sin."^  The  apostle  is  not  speaking 
of  a  progressive  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin, 
but  of  something  which  took  place  at  a  definite  point 
of  time  in  the  past.  Those  who  are  in  Christ  were 
made  free  from  the  power  of  sin  by  virtue  of  being  in 
him  and  this  was  accomplished  by  the  Spirit  of  life.f 

*  Various  commentators,  including  Meyer,  connect  "in  Christ 
Jesus"  in  the  second  verse,  with  "made  me  free,"  with  the  sense 
"The  Spirit  of  life  made  us  free  as  soon  as-  we  entered  into  com- 
munion with  Christ,"  but  Godet  prefers  to  connect  it  with  "law" 
(meaning  "reign"  or  "power").  The  sense  would  then  be.  The 
reign  or  power  ot  the  Spirit  of  life  which  appertains  to  being  in 
Christ  made  me  free,  etc.  Either  view  gives  the  thought  that 
being  in  Chris^t  involves  contact  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 

t  "-Aorist.  For  it  is  a  historical  act,  which  resulted  from  the 
effusion  of  the  Spirit  in  the  heart.  The  progressive  sanctifioa- 
tion  is  the  further  development  and  consequence  of  this  act." — 
lAcyer's,  Com.  in  loc.  The  "progressive  sanctitication"  to  follow 
is  evidence  that  this  freeing  from  sin  was  not  absolute.  It  was 
rather  the  endowment  with  power  to  overcome  sin,  which  in  pro- 
portion to  one's  faithfulness  would  be  accomplished.  Paul  there- 
fore exhorts  to  such  faithfulness  (vs.  12,  13). 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

But  what  is  the  nature  of  this  contact  with  the  Spirit 
which  is  reached  by  coming  into  Christ?  "But  ye  are 
not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you"  (v.  9).  To  be  in  Christ 
is  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit  (called  also  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  in  the  next  clause)  dwell  in  us.  Verse  10  and 
part  of  verse  11  read:  "And  if  Christ  be  in  you,  the 
body  is  dead  because  of  sin,  but  the  spirit  is  life  be- 
cause of  righteousness.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  him 
that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwelleth  in  you," 
etc.  What  is  spoken  of  in  verse  10  as  Christ's  being 
in  us,  is  spoken  of  in  verse  11  as  the  Holy  Spirit's 
dwelling  in  us.  Thus,  the  union  described  by  Christ 
(Jn.  XV.),  consisting  in  our  being  in  him  and  he  in  us, 
is  now  realized  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  Christ's  other  self  abiding  in  the 
world,  and  his  indwelling  is  Christ's  indwelling  (Jn. 
xiv.  16-18).  Referring  again  to  the  statement  in  verse 
9,  "But  ye  aro  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,*  if 
so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you,"  we 
learn  that  to  be  "in  the  Spirit"  and  to  have  the  Spirit 
dwell  in  us  are  convertible  terms,  and  that  it  is  essen- 
tial to  our  being  in  the  Spirit  that  the  Spirit  dwell  in 
us.  If  so,  it  must  also  be  essential  to  our  being  in 
Christ  that  Christ  shall  dwell  in  us.  But  we  have 
just  seen  from  comparing  verses  10  and  11,  that 
Christ's  being  in  us,  and  the  Holy  Spirit's  dwelling  in 
us  are  but  different  expressions  of  the  same  fact.  It 
follows,  therefore,  that  it  is  essential  to  our  being  in 
Christ  that  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  dwell  in  us.  So  es- 
sential to  our  being  in  Christ  is  the  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that   if   any   one   does    not   possess  the 

*Spirit  is  here  written  with  a  capital,  both  by  the  A.  V.  aud 
by  the  Americam  Committee -of  the  R.  V. 

252 


WHAT   IS   THE   SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY  FAITH 

Spirit,  it  is  declared  that  he  is  "none  of  his"  (v.  9). 
Certainly  no  one  can  be  in  Christ  who  is  disowned  by 
him. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  must  not  be 
overlooked.  In  E-om.  vi.  6,  7,  freeing  from  bondage 
to  sin  is  spoken  of  as  death  to  sin;  but  in  this  chap- 
ter we  are  informed  that  freeing  from  bondage  to  sin 
— this  death  to  sin^s  accomplished  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  acting  in  Christ  (v.  2).  Thus  it  ap- 
pears that  while  death  to  sin  may  in  part  consist  in 
our  laying  hold  on  the  saving  Power,  it  is  consum- 
mated only  by  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  those  who 
are  in  Christ.  This  may  seem  to  involve  the  difficulty 
that  as  justification  is  affirmed  only  of  those  who  are 
dead  to  sin  (ch.  vi.  7),  sanctiiication  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  precedes  justification.  But  this  is  not  neces- 
sarily so.  Prof.  Stevens  regards  justification  and 
freeing  from  the  power  of  sin  as  one  act.  "The 
verdict  of  acquittal  is  also  the  effective  realization 
of  an  actual  deliverance  from  sin  itself."*  Again, 
"There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  judicial  acquittal  which 
is  not  also  an  effective  moral  deliverance."!  And 
again,  "So  completely  are  they  [justification  and 
DQoral  renewal]  one  for  the  apostle's  mind  that  he 
can  blend  the  language  of  the  two  representations 
and  write:  *He  that  hath  died  is  justified  from  sin'  " 
(Roni.  vi.  7)4  That  release  from  the  guilt  and  from 
the  power  of  sin  are  blended  into  one  act  of  deliver- 
ance seems  not  an  unnatural  rendering  of  Paul's 
statements,  and  thus  justification  and  the  beginning 
of  sanctification  are  made  to  coincide.  Now,  as 
death  to  sin  is  brought  about  by  the  indwelling  of 

*  T/ie  T/ieolo<ry  of  the  New  Testament,  p.  424. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  425.     t  Ibid.,  p.  424. 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

the  Holy  Spirit,  and  as  we  die  to  sin  on  entering  into 
Christ  (ch.  vi.  2,  3),  it  follows  that  being  in  Christ 
involves  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit. 

From  every  point  of  view,  therefore,  union  with 
Christ  embraces  the  indwelling  of  the   Holy  Spirit. 

The  bearing  of  all  this  becomes  apparent  when  we 
consider  that  baptism  is  a  condition  of  receiving  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  statement  of  Peter,  when  first  an- 
nouncing the  gospel  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "Repent 
ye,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins;  and  ye 
shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  (Acts 
ii.  38),  represents  the  invariable  teaching  and  prac- 
tice of  the  apostles  throughout  the  apostolic  age. 
The  single  miraculous  exception,  by  God  himself, 
in  the  case  of  Cornelius  (x4.cts  x.  44-46)  was  for 
the  accomplishment  of  a  particular  object,*  the 
occasion  for  which  never  returned;  and  the  act 
was  never  repeated.  Paul's  own  view  of  this  mat- 
ter is  evident  from  his  statement  in  Gal.  iii.  26,  27, 
*'For  ye  are  all  sons  of  God  through  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus.  For  as  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into 
Christ  did  put  on  Christ,"  compared  with  that  of 
ch.  iv.  6,  "And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth 
the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  our  hearts,  crying,  Abba, 
Father."  Sonship  is  attained  in  baptism,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed  because  of  sonship. 

If,  then,  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  essen- 
tial to  union  with  Christ,  and  if  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not 


*"The  design  of  this  extraordinary  effusion  of  the  Spirit  is, 
according  to  v.  45,  to  be  found  in  this,  that  all  scruples  concern- 
ing the  reception  of  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  taken  away  from  the 
Jewish  Christians  who  were  present  in  addition  to  Peter,  and 
thereby  from  the  Christians  generally." — Meyer,  Com.  on  ActSy 
in  loco. 

254 


WHAT    IS   THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT   DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

given  before  baptism,  it  follows  that  this  union  does 
not  take  place  before  baptism;  and  it  also  follows 
that,  if  union  with  Christ  is  consummated  in  baptism, 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed,  not  afte7\  but  m,  baptism. 
We  have  already  seen  reason  for  this  view  apart  from 
Paul's  development  of  the  doctrine  of  union  with 
Christ  in  this  epistle.  In  Christ's  typical  baptism, 
although  the  embodiment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
form  of  a  dove  precluded  the  possibility  of  his  com- 
ing upon  Christ  during  the  very  act  of  immersion,  it 
nevertheless  followed  so  closely  as  to  form  part  of 
the  one  transaction.  It  is  also  by  baptism,  together 
with  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  are 
saved  (Tit.  iii.  5,  6);  and  in  the  new  birth  we  are 
"born  of  water  [baptism,  with  all  its  high  and  holy 
spiritual  meanings,  on  the  human  side] ;  and  the 
Spirit"  (the  gift,  outpouring,  or  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  on  the  divine  side) ;  and  this  is  necessary  to 
entering  "into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (Jn.  iii.  5). 
Moreover,  it  is  not  in  water  alone,  but  also  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  we  are  baptized  into  the  one  body  of 
Christ  (I  Cor.  xii.  13).  Thus,  the  convert  on  enter- 
ing into  Christ,  like  the  particle  of  matter  on  taking 
its  place  in  the  tissues  of  the  physical  body,  is  in- 
stantly filled  w^ith,  or  immersed  in,  the  Spirit,  or  life 
principle,  of  the  body,  and  this  induement  is  essential 
to  the  vital  union.  This  union  on  its  divine  side  (the 
bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit)  the  Scriptures  place, 
not  before  baptism,  but  in  it.  Here,  therefore,  must 
the  spiritual  act  of  entering  into  union  with  Christ  on 
its  human  side  also  take  place.  But  this  act,  we  have 
seen,  is  faith.  If  faith  be  the  act  of  entering  into 
union  with  Christ,  it  takes  place  in  baptism,  for   it 

is  there  that  this  relation  is  formed. 

255 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

Faith,  as  the  act  of  entering  into  union  with  Christ, 
together  with  the  death  to  sin  which  it  involves  and 
justification  in  which  it  issues,  are  certainly  placed  by 
Paul  in  baptism. 

There  is  another  passage  in  which  Paul  places  the 
spiritual  act  called  faith,  in  baptism.  He  says  in 
Gal.  iii.  26,  27:  "For  ye  are  all  sons  of  God  through 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus.*  For  as  many  of  you  as  were 
baptized  into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ." 

Let  us  first  note  carefully  what  the  language  de- 
clares, and  then  endeavor  to  ascertain  its  meaning. 
Paul  first  makes  the  statement  that  these  Galatians 
are  all  sons  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ.  He  then  jus- 
tifies this  statement  by  referring  to  the  origin  of  this 
relation :  "For  as  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into 
Christ  did  put  on  Christ."  They  became  sons  of  God 
by  putting  on  Christ.  When  this  was  done  is  also 
stated,  "As  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  into  Christ 
DID  [then]  put  on  Christ."  The  aorist  marks  the 
definite  point  of  time  of  which  he  is  speaking.  If  the 
reading  were  "have  put  on  Christ"  it  would  refer  to 
the  act  as  having  taken  place  some  time  before,  either 
in  baptism  or  previous  to  it;  but  the  word  "did" 
fixes  the  time  of  the  putting  on  Christ  in  baptism. 

What,  now,  is  meant  by  putting  on  Christ?  This 
is  a  metaphor  representing,  under  the  figure  of  put- 
ting on  a  garment,  some  spiritual  act.  Prof.  Sanday 
says  it  "is  commonly  used  in  the  LXX,  where  it 
means  'to  adopt'  or  'take  to  one's  self.'  The  Chris- 
tian at  his  baptism  thus  'took  to  himself  Christ,  and 


*I  retain  the  punctuation  of  the  A.  V.,  which  is  according  to 
the  Greek  text  of  Westcott  and  Hort,  and  is  supported  by  Winer 
and  Meyer. 

256 


WHAT    IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT    DENOTED    BY    FAITH 

sought  to  grow  into  full  unison  and  union  with  him."* 
Ellicott  says  that  these  words  imply  "a  union  with 
Christ."!     The  meaning  therefore  is,  that  these  per- 
sons had,  at  their  baptism,  taken  Christ  to  be  their 
own  in  a  relation  of  blessed  union  with  him,  and  had 
thereby  become  sons  of  God  through  faith  in  him. 
But   how  is   this  a  becoming  sons   of    God   through 
faith?    We  cannot  know  or  understand  Paul's  con- 
nection of  thought,  until  we  know  what  is  here  meant 
by  "faith."     Is  it  a  mere  belief  of  the  truth  regard- 
ing  Christ?     The   language   does    not    exclude    this 
sense.     It   might   be   said   that  having  believed  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  these  people  were 
led  to  repent  of  their  sins  and  then  submit  to  Christ 
and  put  him  on  in  baptism.     All  this  would  be  true, 
but  the  connection  of  faith  with  the  becoming  sons  of 
God  would  be  remote  and  mediate  rather  than  direct. 
But  the  context  does  not  point  to  this  meaning  of 
faith.     The  whole  chapter  shows  that  Paul  is  speak- 
ing of  a  faith  like  that  of  Abraham.     He  is  discuss- 
ing the  same  subject  that  he  discusses  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Romans,  quotes  the  same  language  (Gen. 
XV.  6)  in  the  sixth*  verse,  considers  and  argues  from 
occurrences  in  Abraham's  history  down  to  this  very 
27th  verse,  and  then  in  verse  29  goes  on  to  say  that 
this  entering  into  Christ  by  faith  makes  them  Abra- 
ham's seed,  who  was  the  father  of  the  faithful.     It  is 
beyond  question  that  the  faith  referred  to  is  the  faith 
that  is  reckoned  for  righteousness.     It  is  what  Paul 
speaks  of  in  the  preceding  chapter  (v.  16)  as  believ- 
ing on  (et?)  Christ,  which  signifies  coming  to  him  (Jn. 
vi.  35),  receiving  him  (Jn.  i.  12),  obeying  him  (Jn.  iii. 

♦  The  Neiv  Testament  Com.  for  English  Readers,  p.  448. 
+  EllicotVs  Commentary y  ad  loc. 
17  257 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

36),  and  seeking  to  be  justified  in  him,  in  the  very  next 
verse  (Gal.  ii.  17).  But  what  is  all  this  but  putting 
on  Christ?  What  is  receiving  Christ  but  taking  him 
to  one's  self?  Yet  this  is  precisely  what  putting  on 
Christ  means.  To  believe  on  (ets)  Christ  and  to  put 
on  Christ  are  but  different  designations  of  the  same 
spiritual  act.  If  this  be  the  faith  to  which  Paul  re- 
fers, the  connection  of  his  thought  is  immediate  and 
obvious.  The  Galatians  were  sons  of  God  by  faith 
in  Christ  because  in  believing  on  him  they  put  him 
on,  and  this  putting  him  on  made  them  sons  of  God. 
Just  as  surely  as  Paul  is  here  speaking  of  the  faith 
that  is  reckoned  for  righteousness,  so  surely  does  he 
put  that  faith  in  baptism,  and  the  recognition  of  this 
fact  gives  a  new  force  and  lucidity  to  his  language. 

Our  discussion  of  this  pas'sage  might  close  at  this 
point  but  for  one  fact:  There  are  many  who  recog- 
nize fully  the  definition  here  given  of  faith  and  admit 
that  Paul's  language  places  it  in  baptism,  but  they 
believe  that  it  should  be  interpreted  figuratively. 
They  think  that  this  faith — this  coming  to  Christ, 
putting  him  on,  receiving  him,  entering  into  union 
with  him — takes  place  before  baptism,  and  that  bap- 
tism is  a  formal  act  looking  back  to  it  and  cere- 
monially representing  it. 

Apart  from  the  fact  that  being  in  Christ  involves 
the  possession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  that  the  Spirit 
is  not  given  before  baptism,  there  are  reasons  in  the 
language  of  this  verse  why  such  a  position  is  unten- 
able. 

The  putting  on  of  Christ  must  be  done  either  in  a 

spiritual  sense  or  formally^ — in  some/orm  that  can  be 

so  designated.     But  there  is  nothing  in  the  physical 

act  of  baptism  (immersion)  that  can  be   called  the 

258 


WHAT    IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT    DENOTED    BY   FAITH 

putting  071  of  anything,  or  in  any  way  resembles  such 
an  act.  If  the  physical  act  were  the  putting  on  of  a 
garment,  it  could  be  properly  spoken  of  as  a  formal 
putting  on  of  Christ,  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  act 
of  immersion  that  could  suggest  such  a  figure.  We 
must  look  elsewhere  than  in  the  form  of  the  physical 
act  for  the  meaning  of  Paul's  language.  Christ  is 
not  put  on  in  a  formal  sense  in  baptism.  But  what 
is  even  more  decisive  is  the  fact  that  this  putting  on 
of  Christ  is  the  act  of  the  candidate.  It  is  some- 
thing which  he  does  himself,  not  something  done 
upon  him.  But  he  does  not  perform  the  physical  act 
of  baptism.  This  is  performed  by  the  administrator 
upon  him,  and  he  is  wholly  passive  in  it.  This  put- 
ting on  of  Christ  cannot  refer  to  the  act  of  some  one 
else,  but  to  something  which  he  himself  does.  But 
he  does  nothing  physical  whatever  in  baptism.  If  it  is 
he  who  puts  on  Christ,  it  must  be  a  spiritual  act. 
Baptism  with  its  high  spiritual  content  is  the  act  of 
three  persons.  On  the  part  of  the  administrator,  it 
is  immersion  of  a  proper  subject  for  a  particular  pur- 
pose; on  the  part  of  God,  it  is  absolution,  adoption, 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit;  on  the  part  of  the  candidate, 
it  is  self-surrender  and  putting  on  Christ  (faith).  As 
the  reference  here  is  to  the  candidate's  part  in  bap- 
tism, the  putting  on  of  Christ  must  be  a  spiritual  act. 
It  cannot  be  a  formal  act,  because  he  performs  no 
formal  act  in  baptism,  his  part  being  wholly  spiritual. 
In  so  far  as  God  and  the  candidate  have  anything  to 
do  with  baptism,  it  is  a  spiritual  union.  Believing  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ— that  is,  receiving  him  (Jn. 
i.  12)  and  seeking  union  with  him  (Gal.  ii.  16,  17) — 
takes  place  in  baptism. 

This  phrase    will  be  found  later  to  possess  also  a 

259 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    GF    BAPTISM 

wider  meaning,  but  that  it  has  this  meaning  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  and  Paul's  language  clearly  places 
this  spiritual  act  in  baptism. 

§t?.  Peter  Places  the  Same  Spiritual  Act  in  Bap- 
tism* 

In- close  connection  with  the  statements  of  Paul  re- 
garding the  spiritual  nature  of  baptism  should  be 
brought  one  by  the  apostle  Peter,  already  referred  to 
in  another  connection.  It  will  be  found  in  Peter's 
first  epistle,  and  reads:  '* Which  also  after  a  true 
likeness  doth  now  save  you,  even  baptism,  not  the 
putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  interro- 
gation of  a  good  conscience  toward  God,  through  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ"  (I  Pet.  iii.  21). 

This  quotation  is  made  from  the  Revised  Version, 
which  gives  also  instead  of  the  word  "interrogation," 
the  alternative  marginal  reading  "inquiry  or  appeal." 
The  Authorized  Version  reads  "answer,"  while  some 
good  scholars  would  read,  "inquiry  of  a  good  con- 
science after  God."  Lange's  Oommentary  has  "ask- 
ing" or  "inquiry,"  and  Thayer's  N.  T.  Lexicon, 
"seeking,"  while  Prof.  Stevens,  of  Yale,  prefers  to 
read,  "the  request  (directed)  towards  God  for  a  good 
conscience."*  The  rendering,  "answer  of  a  good 
conscience,"  is  not  supported  by  modern  scholarship. 
The  meaning  is  undoubtedly'  ashing,  seeking,  inquiry^ 
or  request. 

What,  now,  does  Peter  mean  by  this  language?  Let 
us  note,  first,  that  he  definitely  states  that  baptism 
saves  us.  So  clear  and  explicit  is  this  statement  that 
any  attempt  to  show  that  baptism  is  not  in  some  way 
a  saving  act  must  be  illegitimate. 

Let  us  next  inquire  what  is  the  nature  of  that  salva- 


Theology  of  the  New  Testament,  p.  310. 
260 


WHAT    IS    THE    SPIRITUAL    ACT    DENOTED    BY    FAITH 

tion  which  baptism  brings.  The  Scriptures  speak  of 
two  salvations — a  future  salvation,  and  a  present 
salvation  from  sin  (Mt.  i.  21).  The  salvation  here 
spoken  of  must  be  some  salvation  that  is  connected 
with  baptism;  and  what  this  is  Peter  informs  us  in 
Acts  ii.  38,  where  he  says:  "  Repent  and  be  baptized 
....  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins,  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit."*  This  salvation 
embraces  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit.  But  any  statement  that  such  a  salvation 
depends  on  a  mere  physical  act,  or  that  water  has  any 
power  to  take  away  sin  must  seem  too  incredible  for 
belief;  and  it  is  this  fact  that  has  caused  so  large  a 
part  of  modern  Christendom  to  reject  baptism  as  a 
condition  of  salvationj  and  make  it  a  symbolic  act 
pointing  back  to  some  spiritual  transaction  already 
consummated.  But  grave  difficulties  lie  in  the  way  of 
such  an  interpretation  of  this  passage.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  baptism  would  not  then  save  us,  but 
only  represent  something  that  does  save  us,  no  one  1 
ever  asks,  inquires,  or  seehs  for  anything  whicTi  he 
already  has.  A  formal  asking  for  what  has  already 
been  asked  for  and  obtained  would  he  unnatural,  if 
not  farcical.  The  nature  of  the  spiritual  act,  there- 
fore, is  not  compatible  with  such  an  interpretation. 
Another  objection  is  found  in  Peter's  contrasting  of 
this  spiritual  act  with  a  physical  act!  He  declares  _ 
that  baptism  is  not  the  '^putting  away  of  the  filth  of 
the  flesh,"  but  the  **request  for  a  good  conscience^" 
The  contrast  is  evTHently  between  what  baptism  is  and 
what  it  is  not;  not  between  what  it  fjof^-^r  -"^"^  does 
not,  represent.  The  thought  is  not  that  baptism  does 
not  represent  some  previous  cleansing  of  the  flesh,  for 

♦Cf.  also  Tit.  iii.  5,  6. 

261 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

no  washing  ever  does  this.  When  one  washes  or 
bathes  his  body  the  washing  is  not  the  symbol  of  some 
previous  cleansing,  but  is  itself  the  cleansing.  It 
accomplishes  the  cleansing,  does  not  represent  it. 
The  question  is  not,  therefore,  whether  baptism 
represents  some  physical  act  of  purifying  or  repre- 
sents some  spiritual  act,  but  whether  it  is  the  one  or 
the  other;  and  Peter  declares  that  it  saves,  not  as  a 
physical  washing:,  but  as  a  spiritual  act.  The  force  of 
this  contrast  makes  it  certain  that  Peter  is  not  speak- 
ing  of  what  baptism  represents,  but  of  what  it  ^>..  _ 
Thus,  Peter  meets  the  difficulty  involved  in  suspend- 
ing salvation  on  a  mere  physical  act,  not  by  placing 
salvation  before  baptism,  but  by  placing  in  bap- 
tism a  spiritual  act  that  may  fitly  form  a  condition  of 
salvation. 

What  we  are  to  understand  by  a  *'good  conscience" 
will  depend  on  the  rendering  of  the  passage.  If  we 
read  '*the  inquiry  of  a  good  conscience  after  God,"  it 
will  refer  to  the  sincerity  of  the  person  seeking  God. 
But  it  seems  more  natural  to  take  a  '*good  conscience" 
in  contrast  with  "the  filth  of  the  flesh";  and  in 
this  case  it  becomes,  like  the  latter,  an  objective 
genitive,  indicating  the  object  sought  in  baptism. 
What  this  is,  Peter  informs  us  in  Acts  ii.  38,  when  he 
directs  men  to  repent  and  be  baptized  that  they  may 
receive  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  To  perform  any  act  for  the  purpose  of  attain- 
ing any  end  is  to  make  that  act  a  seeking  of  the  end. 
Peter's  language  in  Acts  makes  baptism  a  seeking  act, 
the  object  sought  being  the  remission  of  sins  and  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  how  can  this  be  the  seeking 
of  a  "good  conscience"?    It  is  clear  that  remission  of 

sins,  or  absolution,  removes  the  guilt  of  sin,  but  if 

262 


WHAT   IS   THE    SPIRITUAL   ACT   DENOTED   BY  FAITH 

the  seeker  does  not  know  that  this  is  done,  it  will  not 
affect  his  consciousness;  but  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
enters  his  heart,  shedding  abroad  the  sense  of  the 
divine  love  (Rom.  v.  5),  and  filling  him  with  the  joy 
of  adoption  so  that  he  cries  out,  *'Abba,  Father" 
(Gal.  iv.  6),  he  feels  that  all  is  well.  Reliance  upon 
such  a  mental  experience  might  not  be  safe  apart 
from  an  act  of  obedience,  but  it  is  essential  to  the 
consciousness  of  sonship,  and  is  an  assurance  that 
our  repentance  and  self-surrender  have  been  genuine.* 
Thus  the  convert  is  freed  not  only  from  guilt,  but 
from  the  sense  of  guilt;  his  justification  is  not  only  a 
fact,  but  a  conscious  fact.  It  is  thus  that  in  the  re- 
mission of  sins  and  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  seeker 
gains  a  '*good  conscience." 

As  Peter  makes  baptism  a'  seeking^  an  ashing  for  a 
good  conscience,  it  is  plain  that  on  its  spiritual  side 
he  makes  it  a  prayer.  He  is  not  alone  in  this.  In 
Christ's  t3^pical  baptism,  it  was  while  he  prayed  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  him  and  the  voice  from 
heaven  assured  him  of  sonship  (Lk.  iii.  21,  22). 
Paul  was  commanded  to  be  baptized  and  wash  away 
his  sins,  "calling  on  his  [Christ's]  name"  (Acts  xxii. 
16).  The  participle  rendered  calling  on  is  in  the 
middle  voice,  and  has  the  force  of  **I  call  upon  (in 
my  behalf)."  t  It  is  a  prayer  of  the  soul  for  the 
blessing  of  salvation.  There  is  in  baptism  the  heart 
of  a  prayer,  and  physical  baptism  is  its  voice.  Bap- 
tism is  an  opening  of  the  heart  for  the  divine  bless- 


*Should  any  object  that  these  references  are  not  to  Peter's  own 
writings,  it  need  only  be  said  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
itself,  which  he  promises  to  all  baptized  penitents,  would,  apart 
from  any  assurance  he  might  directly  convey,  be  an  evidence  of 
divine  acceptance. 

t  Thayer's  Lexicon  .sub  voce  epikaleo. 

263 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

ing  and  an  earnest  desire  directed  toward  God  for 
absolution  and  the  indwelling  of  his  Spirit. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  ask  an  important  ques- 
tion :  What  is  this  spiritual  act  which  Peter  places 
in  baptism?  It  is  faith^  in  one  of  its  aspects.  With 
Peter,  baptism  is  the  seehing  of  a  conscious  release 
from  the  guilt  of  sin;  with  Paul  to  believe  on  Christ 
is  to  SEEK  to  he  justified  in  him  (Gal.  ii.  16,  17). 
Faith,  in  one  of  its  aspects,  is  a  seeking  for  justifica- 
tion, and  Peter  places  this  in  baptism.  Paul,  as  we 
have  previously  seen,  places  the  act  of  believing  on 
Christ  in  baptism,  and  this,  with  himj  is  equivalent  to 
seeking  justification;  Peter  places  this  same  spiritual 
act  in  baptism.  This  is  not  all.  The  eloment  com- 
mon to  the  other  descriptions  of  faith  which  we  have 
mentioned  is  appropriation.  To  com^  to  Christ  (Jn. 
vi.  35),  to  partake  of  him  as  icood  (^vv.  47-51),  to  re" 
ceive  him  (ch.  1.  12),  and  to  put  Mm  on  (Gal.  iii.  27); 
are  all  acts  of  appropriation.  NoWj  on  a  moment's 
thought,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  just  what  P-^ter^s 
asking,  or  seeking,  for  a  good  conscience  is.  When 
it  is  uncertain  whether  a  request  will  be  granted  or 
not,  the  request  is  necessarily  wholly  petitionary,  but 
when  there  is  a  definite  promise  that  the  thing  de- 
sired will  be  granted  to  the  request,  the  asking  be- 
comes a  means  of  appropriation.  There  is  such  a 
definite  promise  regarding  the  thing  asked  for  in  bap- 
tism (Acts  ii.  38);  so  that  this  mental  asking  becomes 
an  appropriative  act.  Not  only  do  the  conditions  of 
the  case  make  this  asking  an  appropriation,  but 
they  require  that  all  appropriation  shall  be  an  asking. 
Salvation  is  of  grace  (favor),  and  favors  are  asked 
for,   not   demanded  or  simply  taken   possession   of. 

Pardon  is  never  demanded.     All  faith  that  is  appro- 

264 


WHAT   IS   THE    SPIRITUAL   ACT  DENOTED   BY   FAITH 

priative  must  be  petitionary.  The  faith  that  saves 
must  be  on  its  knees.*  And  this  is  Peter's  spiritual 
act  in  baptism.  Alas,  that  we  should  know  faith  so 
ill  as  not  to  recognize  it  in  this  attitude!  It  is  faith 
in  one  of  its  most  beautiful  aspects,  t 

It  may  now  be  asked  whether  Peter  regarded  this 
spiritual  act  which  he  places  in  baptism,  as  being 
faith.  The  question  is  not  important,  as  it  concerns 
only  names.  So  long  as  he  places  in  baptism  that 
spiritual  act  by  which  salvation  is  appropriated^  and 
which  is  elsewhere  under  so  many  descriptions  spoken 
of  as  faith,  it  can  make  little  difference  by  what  name 
he  may  choose  to  call  it.  But  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  Peter  regarded  this  spiritual  act  either  as 
faith  itself  J  or  as  forming  a  constituent  element  of 
that  faith  that  obtains  salvation.  In  Acts  x.  43,  he 
says  that  **throughhis  [Christ's]  name  every  one  that 
believeth  on  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins."     If 


*  Waterland,  commenting  on  this  passage,  says:  "Faith  alone 
will  not  ordinarily  serve  in  this  case,  but  it  must  be  a  contracting 
faith  on  man's  part,  contracting  in  form  corresponding  to  the 
federal  promises  and  engagements  on  God's  part." — Waterland 
Chi  Justification,  p.  440.  This  is  true.  The  faith  that  saves  must 
be  a  covenanting  spiritual  act,  but,  in  the  language  of  the  heart, 
it  is  a  suppliant  reccivitig  of  salvation. 

t  Regarding  the  other  rendering  which  makes  Peter's  language 
read,  "The  inquiry  of  a  good  conscience  after  God,"  it  may  be 
remarked  that  this  modifies  the  thought  somewhat,  but  does  not 
essentially  change  the  aspect  of  the  case.  This  "inquiry  after 
God"  would  not,  of  course,  be  a  mere  act  of  seeking  informa- 
tion about  him,  but  the  seeking  of  a  blessed  relationship,  a  union 
with  him,  thus  still  presenting  this  faith  in  its  appropriative 
aspect.  The  passage  still  assigns  to  baptism  a  spiritual  element, 
to  which  belongs  its  saving  efficacy,  and  this,  of  the  nature  of  a 
humble  and  suppliant  appropriation  of  Christ's  redemption. 
Even  if  the  rendering  were  *^answer  oi  a  good  conscience,"  the 
spiritual  element  in  baptism  would  still  be  faith  in  one  of  its 
aspects,  viz.,  self-surrender.  It  would  be  the  yes  of  the  soul  to 
all  God  requires  in  the  gospel.  "Yea,  I^ord,  I  give  myself  to 
thee." 

265 


MOKAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

believing  on  Christ  is  the  condition  of  remission  of 
sins,  and  if  salvation,  including  remission  of  sins  (cf. 
Acts  ii,  38).  is  made  to  depend  on  a  spiritual  act  in 
baptism  (1  Fet.  iii.  21),  it  follows  that  this  believing 
on  Christ  must  embrace  this  spiritual  act  in  baptism. 
If  the  believing  spoken  of  in  Acts  x.  43  be  taken  to 
include  the  entire  spiritual  process  of  conversion, — 
belief  of  the  truth,  repentance  and  putting  on  Christ 
or  entering  into  union  with  him, — 'it  will  reach  its  con- 
summation in  baptism,  and  Peter's  spiritual  element 
in  baptism  will  be  a  constituent  part  of  it.  Alas  for 
any  spiritual  process  of  conversion  that  does  not  in- 
clude the  spiritual  step  that  Peter  places  in  baptism ! 
— a  humble,  suppliant  appropriation  of  Christ  and  his 
salvation. 

Peter  places  faith,  as  the  spiritual  act  of  appropri- 
ating Christ's  salvation,  in  baptism. 

266 


CHAPTER  II. 

SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS. 

We  have  seen  that  the  final  spiritual  step  in  con- 
version belongs  to  a  chiss  of  acts  which  demand  phy- 
sical embodiment,  and  that  there  are  important  rea- 
sons, both  moral  and  spiritual,  why  this  act  should 
receive  such  embodiment.  We  have  seen  that  the 
physical  act  of  baptism  is  admirably  fitted  to  meet 
this  requirement,  and  that  when  it  stands  where  the 
apostles  placed  it,  this  spiritual  act  naturally  falls 
within  baptism.  We  have  seen  also  that  both  Paul 
and  Peter  place  it  there,  and  in  terms  so  unequivocal 
that  any  attempt  to  separate  the  spiritual  from  the 
physical  involves  violence  to  their  language. 

We  now  proceed  to  show  that  the  placing  of  the 
spiritual  act  represented  by  baptism  within  baptism, 
is  not  an  exceptional  proceeding,  but  that  it  accords 
perfectly  with  the  nature  of  all  similar  acts  in  Chris- 
tianity and  with  the  habits  of  thought  of  the  apos- 
tolic age.* 

§  1.  The  Lord's  Supper.  The  LorcVs  Day.  Sacred 
Song. 

Let  us  first  consider  the  Lord's  Supper,  a  sister  or- 
dinance instituted  by  the  Lord  himself. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  belong  to  the  same 
class  of  institutions,  commonly  designated  ordinances. 


*  «'We  must  remember  also,  that  in  the  age  and  to  the  thought 
of  St.  Paul,  the  act  of  faith  in  the  individual  which  brings  him 
within  the  range  of  justification,  is  inseparably  connected  with 
its  ratification  in  \m^t\sm:'^/nfenialional  Critical  Commentary 
on  Romans,  b}^  Prof.  Sanday  and  Rev.  Headlam,  p.  123. 

267 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

They  each  contain  a  formal  or  physical  act  which 
stands  related  to  a  corresponding  spiritual  act.* 
They  differ  in  that  the  spiritual  act  in  one  case  is 
commemorative,  in  the  "other  transitional.  It  there- 
fore results  that  one  is  to  be  frequently  repeated, 
while  the  other  is  to  be  performed  but  once.  The 
external  acts  also  are  different,  corresponding  to  the 
difference  of  the  spiritual  acts  to  which  they  stand 
related.  In  a  word,  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
belong  to  the  same  class  of  institutions,  but  to  differ- 
ent varieties  under  that  class.  The  laws  which  pre- 
side over  institutions  of  this  class  relate  alike  to  both, 
and  must  not  be  disregarded.  Certain  of  these  laws 
will  appear  more  clearly,  if  examined  in  their  con- 
nection with  the  Lord's  Supper. 

In  order  that  we  may  rightly  apprehend  the  nature 
of  this  institution,  and  the  interrelation  of  its  phy- 
sical and  spiritual  acts,  it  is  important  to  note  that 
there  are  two  things  to  be  distinguished — material 
sy77ibols  SLiid  ^physical  act.  The  e^nhlems  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  point  to  something  not  present, — to  the 
broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  our  Lord, — and  they 
represent  an  event  far  in  the  past — his  violent  death. 
But  these  emblems  do  not  constitute  the  celebration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper;  they  are  only  the  means  of  its 
performance.  The  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
consists  in  an  act — the  eating  of  the  bread  and  the 
drinking  of  the  wine.  Now,  what  does  this  physical 
act  symbolize?     Not  Christ's  body,  not   his  blood,  not 


*  Baptism  naturally  represents  a  burial  from  the  old  life  and  a 
rising  to  the  new  life  in  Christ — a  passing  from  one  life  to  the 
other.  It  therefore  represents  the  final  step  in  conversion,  and 
forms  the  center  of  a  cluster  of  spiritual  facts,  such  as  are  de- 
scribed by  Paul  and  Peter,  which  are  thus  also  brought  within 
baptism. 

268 


SOME    SIDK-IJGHTS 

his  death,  bat  a  spiritual  act  on  the  part  of  the  par- 
ticipant. Of  both  parts  Christ  said,  "Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me."  (I  Cor.  xi.  24,  25.)  The  spiritual 
act  is,  in  the  first  phice,  an  act  of  calling  into  mind 
and  dwelling  on  Christ's  death,  and  this  upon  a  back- 
ground, and  on  a  day,  representative  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. The  heart  feeds  on  the  inspiring,  quickening 
facts  of  its  redemption.  The  act  is  also  called  a 
**communion"  (I  Cor.  x.  16),  and  professional,  in  so 
far  as  it  shows  forth  the  Lord's  death  (1  Cor.  xi.  26). 
The  physical  eating  and  drinking  represent  a  spirit- 
ual eating  and  drinking,  or  partaking. 

Now,  it  is  essential  to  the  very  existence  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  that  the  spiritual  act  shall  take  place 
in  the  physical  act  which  represents  it,  and  not  sim- 
ply at  some  other  time.  If,  under  the  influence  of  a 
sermon  vividly  portraying  the  scenes  of  the* cruci- 
fixion, a  whole  congregation  are  carried  back  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  and  with  melting  hearts  view  the 
agonies  of  their  Redeemer,  and  if,  with  the  conclud- 
ing prayer  all  hearts  ascend  to  him  and  seek  commun- 
ion with  him  in  spirit,  we  have  the  important  ele- 
ments of  the  spiritual  act  belonging  to  the  Lord's 
Supper;  but  this  will  not  be  the  Lord's  Supper,  be- 
cause the  physical  act — the  eating  and  drinking  of  the 
bread  and  wine — forms  no  part  of  it.  Or  again,  if  a 
body  of  Christians  shall  assemble  and  partake  of  a 
social  meal,  into  the  menit  of  which  bread  and  wine 
enter,  but  without  the  spiritual  act  of  remembering 
Christ's  death  and  communing  with  him,  tJtls  will  not 
be  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  physical  part  is  here,  but 
the  spiritual  part  is  absent,  and  the  mere  physical  act 
of  partaking  of  bread  and  wine  cannot  constitute  the 

Lord's  Supper.      Suppose,   again,  that  either  under 

269 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

the  influence  of  a  sermon,  or  in  a  social  meeting,  all 
hearts  are  carried  back  to  Calvary  and  up  to  heaven; 
and  then,  a  month  or  so  later,  a  social  meal,  such  as 
has  been  described,  is  partaken  of  by  the  same  com- 
pany. They  have  performed  both  the  spiritual  and 
physical  acts  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  but  neither  in 
the  inspiring  meeting  nor  in  the  social  meal,  nor  in 
them  both,  in  their  separate  performance,  have  they 
partaken  of  the  Lord's  Suppei ;  nor  can  they  do  so, 
unless  the  spiritual  act  shall  take  place  together  with 
the  physical,  and  constitute  its  spiritual  element. 

Further,  if  the  church  should  assemble  and  partake 
of  the  bread  and  wine  in  commemoration  of  some 
other  event  than  that  which  is  symbolized  by  the  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  such,  for  example,  as  their  own  con- 
version, this  would  not  be  the  Lord's  Supper.  It 
would  substitute  one  spiritual  element  for  another, 
the  act  not  being  performed  in  memory  of  Christ's 
death,  but  for  quite  a  different  purpose. 

But  finally,  suppose  that,  on  passing  the  bread  and 
wine,  each  communicant  should  simply  touch  the 
bread,  and  dip  his  finger  into  the  wine,  and  with  it 
make  a  cross  on  his  forehead,  the  act  might  be  very 
impressive,  but  there  would  be  no  eating  and  drink- 
ing, and  it  would  not  be  a  partaking  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

I  think  all  persons  will  agree  that  any  one  of  these 

changes  would  amount  to  a  destruction  of  the  Lord's 

Supper;    and   yet,    have   they   not   all    happened  to 

baptism?     With  some,  the  spiritual  element  only  has 

been    retained    and   the    physical   discarded.      With 

many,  the  spiritual  act  is  made  to  take  place  alone, 

while  the  physical  act  which  represents  it  also  takes 

place  by  itself,  and  is  called  "a  mere  outward  act"; 

270 


SOME   SIDE-LIGHTS 

or  this  physical  act  is  made  to  commemorate,  or 
retrospectively  represent,  the  candidate's  conversion; 
and  finally,  the  physical  act  itself  is  exchanged  for 
one  quite  different,  both  in  form  and  in  import. 

But  our  main  point  for  consideration  is  that  of  the 
separation  of  the  spiritual  act  from  the  physical  act 
which  represents  it.  This,  we  have  seen,  in  case  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  would  amount  to  an  annihilation 
of  the  ordinance.  A  spiritual  communion  in  a  social 
meeting,  or  at  family  worship,  and  then,  at  some 
other  time,  eating  and  drinking  bread  and  wine  with- 
out any  such  spiritual  accompaniment,  would  by  no 
one  be  regarded  as  constituting  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Yet  it  is  common  thus  to  separate  the  physical  act 
of  baptism  from  that  which  it  represents.  So  import- 
ant is  it  that  the  spiritual  act  symbolized  by  the  par- 
taking of  the  elements  in  the  Lord's  Supper  should 
be  present  in  the  act,  that  Paul  declares  that  the  act, 
without  this,  becomes  even  damnatory.  In  1  Cor.  xi. 
29  he  says:  "For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh, 
eateth  and  drinketh  judgment  unto  himself,  if  he 
discern  not  the  body."  In  this,  the  twin  ordinance 
to  baptism,  we  see  how  important  it  is  that  the 
spiritual  act  shall  take  place  within  the  physical  act 
representing  it,  and  how  indispensable  it  was  regarded 
by  an  apostle  that  it  should  do  so. 

Will  it  be  said  that  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
differ — that  one  is  an  initiatory,  and  the  other  a  com- 
memorative, act?  The  difference  is  admitted,  but  it 
still  remains  to  be  shown  that  this  difference  in  any 
way  affects  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the 
spiritual  act  to  its  symbolic  expression.  Marriage 
is  an  initiatory  act  very  closely  resembling  baptism, 
but  the  mental  act  of   taking  each  other  as  husband 

271 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

and  wife,  by  the  parties,  must  take  place  in  marriage; 
and  so  important  is  it  that  it  should  do  so  that  any 
tampering  with  it  results  in  nothing  less  than  a  grave 
disaster  to  society.  Were  the  external  act  either  to 
be  omitted  altogether,  or  made  to  take  place  some 
time  after  the  parties  had  taken  each  other  as  hus- 
band and  wife  and  lived  together  as  such,  the  moral 
disaster  to  society  would  be  incalculable.  One  of  the 
most  momentous  demands  of  morality  is  that  the 
mental  and  external  elements  of  marriage  shall  not 
be  separated.  To  permit  clandestine  union,  and 
transform  the  marriage  act  into  a  ceremony  looking 
backward  to  the  time  when  the  parties  began  to  live 
together  without  marriage,  would  be  to  break  down 
its  utility,  and  transform  it  into  a  mere  plaything. 
The  distinction  between  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper  as  initiatory  and  commemorative  has,  there- 
fore, no  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  separation  of 
the- spiritual  and  the  symbolic  in  these  acts. 

We  have  in  the  Lord's  Supper  a  strong  side-light, 
revealing  the  views  of  the  apostles  regarding  the  re- 
lation of  the  spiritual  and  the  symbolic  in  institutions 
of  this  kind. 

The  Lord's  Day  is  not  an  act,  but  a  portion  of  time 
set  apart  for  commemorative  and  religious  purposes; 
and,  therefore,  is  so  far  removed  from  the  nature  of 
religious  symbolic  acts  as  to  have  no  very  close  bear- 
ing on  the  question  we  are  considering.  But  regard- 
ing this,  even,  it  may  be  remarked  that  it  can  only  be 
honored  by  being  made  a  season  wherein  acts  of  spir- 
itual and  religious  devotion  take  place.  It  must  con- 
tain within  itself  a  spiritual  element, — spiritual  acts, 
— or  cease  to  be  the  Lord's  Day  in  any  real  sense. 

Perhaps  we  are   hardly  warranted  in  referring  to 

272 


SOME   SIDE-LIGHTS 

what  Paul  says  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  15  as  bearing  on  this 
question,  since  the  singing  and  praying  "with  the 
spirit"  there  mentioned  may  be  regarded  as  referring 
to  the  ecstatic  exaltation  connected  with  the  miracu- 
lous gift  of  tongues;  but  there  are  none  who  will  for 
a  moment  question  that  the  apostles  must  have  re- 
quired that  both  prayer  and  religious  song  should 
contain  within  them  spiritual  acts  of  worship,  and 
that  when  the  vocalism  ceased  to  be  the  investiture 
of  acts  of  the  heart,  it  became  unvvorthy. 

§  2.     Baptism  unto  Repentance. 

The  severance  of  baptism  from  its  spiritual  element 
has  had  the  effect  to  render  obscure  and  difficult  one 
of  the  most  happily  expressive  passages  of  the  New 
Testament.  John  the  Baptist,  in  his  address  to  the 
multitudes  assembled  at  the  Jordan,  exclaimed:  **I 
indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance :  but 
he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose 
shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  he  shall  baptize  you 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  with  fire"  (Mt.  iii.  11). 
What  does  this  statement  regarding  baptism  "unto 
repentance"  mean?  Our  ideas  of  repentance  and  of 
baptism  are  such  as  to  require  that  repentance  shall 
precede  baptism.  How,  then,  can  baptism  be  "unto," 
or  in  order  to,  repentance?  Various  expedients  have 
been  resorted  to  to  relieve  this  difficulty.  One  of 
these  has  been — assuming  that  repentance  cannot 
follow,  but  must  precede  baptism — to  claim  that  di 
cannot  here  mean  unto,  or  in  order  to,  and  that  it 
should  be  rendered  "because  of";  and  this  supposed 
necessary  meaning  has  been  turned  to  controversial 
account  in  support  of  the  chiim  that  the  ct?  does  not 
mean  unto,  or  in  order  to,  in  Acts  ii.  38,  and  that 
baptism  "unto  UU)  remission  of  sins,"  there  spoken 
18  273 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

of,  is  really  baptism  because  of  remissiou  of  sins. 

But  a  serious  objection  to  this  rendering  of  eis  in 
Matt.  iii.  11  is  that  it  is  not  supported  by  the  best 
scholarship,  but  is  a  short  and  summary  dealing  with  a 
linguistic  difficulty  in  a  seemingly  controversial  inter- 
est. The  highest  scholarship  of  the  world  lends  it  no 
sanction. 

The  Authorized  Version  reads  "unto  repentance." 
So  also  does  the  Revised  Version,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  both  the  English  and  the  American  commit- 
tees. The  American  Bible  union  translation  (Bap- 
tist) also  renders  ets  by  *'unto."  Anderson  translates 
**iD  order  to  repentance."  So  also  Dr.  Charles 
Hodge*  who  says  that  cts  here  has  the  meaning  of  *'in 
order  to." 

Bloomfield  says  cis  here  "denotes  purpose.'"-\  Winer 
says  nothing  about  it,  thus  indicating  that  he  gives  no 
exceptional  meaning  to  the  word  ei?  in  this  passage. 
Thayer's  New  Testament  Lexicon  defines  John's 
"baptism  of  repentance"  as  being  "a  baptism  binding 
its  subjects  to  repentance,"  and  gives  no  such  excep- 
tional meaning  as  because  of  to  eis  in  this  passage. 
Lange  renders  the  words  "unto  repentance,"  and 
says  that  by  his  baptism  in  water  John  "calls  them  to 
repentance."  Meyer  says:  "eis  fteravotai/ denotes  the 
telle  reference  of  the  baptism  which  imposes  an  obli- 
gation to  /xeravota"  (repentance). | 

This  list  need  not  be  extended.  Not  one  of  these 
authorities  renders  the  word  ei5  in  this  passage  by 
because  of^  or  by  any  equivalent  term.  The  writer 
of    this   is   not    aware  that    any   reputable    scholar 


*Com.  on  Romans,  p.  140.     ^Commentary,  in  loco. 
JThe  Peshito  (Murdock's  translation)  reads  **unto  repentance." 

274 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

has  ventured  to  incorporate  any  such  rendering  of 
this  passage  into  his  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  were  not  easy  to  find  any  linguistic  ques- 
tion on  which  the  world's  foremost  scholars  are  more 
completely  united  than  in  the  view  that  eis  in  this  pas- 
sage means  **unto"  or  *'in  order  to,"  and  that  John's 
baptism  was  therefore  in  some  sense,  not  "because 
of"  repentance,  but  **unto"  or  *'in  order  to"  repent- 
ance. Until  we  are  able  to  show  that  this  consensus 
of  scholarship  is  wrong,  we  must  accept  it  and  seek 
some  other  solution  of  the  difficulty  involved.  Va- 
rious other  expedients  have  been  resorted  to  for  this 
purpose. 

It  has  been  proposed  to  read  "reformation"  instead 
of  "repentance,"  and  refer  the  meaning  to  that  out- 
ward change  of  life  that  follows  repentance;  but 
fxeravota  scems  hardly  to  bear  this  meaning. 

As  Webster  defines  repentance  as  "the  act  of  re- 
penfci  ng,  or  the  state  of  being  penitent,"  it  has  been 
thought  that  John's  baptism-  may  have  introduced  its 
subjects  into  a  state  of  repentance — that  is,  into  a 
life  of  penitence.  There  are  several  objections  to 
this,  one  of  which  is,  that  the  statement  of  the  pas- 
sage would  not  then  be  true.  If  men  must  repent 
before  baptism,  the  life  of  penitence  would  begin 
then,  and  baptism  could  not  therefore  introduce  them 
into  it.  Seeing  this  difficulty,  L.  B.  Wilkes,  in  his 
able  work  on  Designs  of  Christian  Baptism,  suggests 
that  the  meaning  may  be  that  baptism  introduces  us 
"into  formal  and  visible  connection  with  the  cause 
which  John  preached,  and  with  the  people  whom 
John  was  making  ready  for  the  Lord."*  It  can  hardly 


*  Page  116. 

275 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

be  claimed  that  this  removes  all  difficulty,  and  the 
author  candidly  remarks  at  the  beginning  of  his  dis- 
cussion that  the  ''passage  is  not  without  its  difficul- 
ties." Turn  them  as  we  may,  it  is  not  easy  to  draw 
from  John's  words  a  clear  and  obvious  meaning;* 
and  yet  we  cannot  suppose  them  to  have  been  obscure 
to  his  hearers,  or  to  the  writer  of  the  gospel.  Do  we 
occupy  their  view-point?  May  the  trouble  not  lie  in 
some  defect  in  our  apprehension  of  this  whole  mat- 
ter? Instead  of  seeking  to  bring  the  language  into 
harmony  with  our  own  preconceptions,  let  us  seek  by 
further  investigation  to  ascertain  its  real  meaning. 
And  let  us  now  ask  one  question:  Does  repentance 
(/xeravota)  always  mean  in  the  Scriptures  precisely  the 
same  thing?  It  would  be  surprising  if  it  did,  for  both 
the  English  v/ord  repent  and  the  Greek  word  /xeravoew 
have  several  meanings.  The  language  of  the  Script- 
ures is  not  philosophical  and  technical,  but  popular; 
and  in  popuhir  usage  words  of  this  class  are  generally 
elastic  in  meaning.  To  assume  that  the  word  repent' 
aiice  has  but  a  single  cast-iron  meaning,  and  then  to 
seek  to  apply  this  meaning  to  all  cases,  is  to  miss  our 
way  in  the  matter  of  interpretation. 

Not  only  is  it  antecedently  improbable  that  the 
word  repentance  (/xerai/ota)  has  only  one  meaning  in 
the  Scriptures,  but  there  is  positive  evidence  that 
such  is  not  the  fact.  It  does  not  lie  within  the 
province  of  this  discussion  to  consider  all  the  senses 

*  The  idea  that  John  baptized  impenitent  persons  for  the  pur- 
pose of  binding  them  to  repentance,  seems  inadmissible.  A  man 
may  bind  himself  to  change  his  conduct,  but  not  to  change  his 
purpose,  for  such  an  act  implies  a  change  of  purpose.  Nor  can  he 
promise  to  feel  in  a  particular  way  at  some  future  time,  for  feel- 
ings are  not  summoned  at  will.  Moreover,  the  people  were  bap- 
tized by  John,  "confessing  their  sins";  and  unless  this  confes- 
sion was  hypocritical,  it  implied  a  purpose  to  forsake  them. 

276 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

in  which  this  word  is  used,  but  we  shall  notice  two  of 
them. 

In  II.  Cor.  vii.  10  we  read  that  "godly  sorrow  work- 
eth  repentance  unto  salvation,  a  repentance  which 
bringeth  no  regret;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world 
worketh  death."  Here  sorrow  and  repentance  are 
not  the  same,  but  stand  to  each  other  as  cause  and 
effect.  The  repentance  is  not  sorrow,  but  a  con- 
sequence of  it.  What  it  is,  it  is  not  necessary  now 
to  inquire.  It  is  commonly  regarded — and  I  think 
rightly — as  a  change  of  mind  or  purpose.  The  pres- 
ent object  is  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is 
here  distinguished  from  godly  sorrow.  Now,  in  con- 
nection with  this,  let  us  consider  another  fact: 
There  was  among  the  Jews  something  known  as 
repentance  *'in  sackcloth  and  ashes."  This  "sack- 
cloth and  ashes"  was  the  great  symbol  of  mourning. 
To  speak  of  changing  one's  purpose  "in  sackcloth 
and  ashes"  w^ould  be  absurd.  The  change  of  purpose 
is  necessarily  the  cause  which  must  lead  to  the  taking 
of  the  sackcloth  and  ashes  when  that  step  relates  to 
one's  wrong-doing.  If  we  take  tlie  view  that  the 
taking  of  "sackcloth  and  ashes"  was  a  mere  profes- 
sion of  something  which  had  gone  before,  it  would 
still  point  to  that  something  as  a  great  sorrow.  Hence 
we  should  have  another  use  of  the  word  repentance.^ 


*3Tetanoeo  here  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  doing  penance. 
"Sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes"  was  not  an  act  of  expiation, 
but  an  expression  of  deep  humiliation  and  sorrow  for  sin.  ^  Pre- 
cisely the  same  act  was  wont  to  be  performed  as  an  expression  of 
sorrow,  when  no  sin  was  being  repented  of.  Our  versions  read 
repent,  not  do  penance;  and  Meyer  gives  the  meaning  of  Mt.  xi, 
21  as:  "Even  those  wicked  heathen  cities  would  have  been 
brought  to  amendment  long  ago  with  deep  sorrow  for  their  sins." 
— Com.  in  loco. 

211 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

But  we  are  not  permitted  to  regard  the  sackcloth  aad 
ashes  as  merely  retrospectiv^e  of  something  already 
past.  Christ  refers  to  the  practice  in  Mat.  xi.21  and 
Luke  X.  13.  In  the  latter  passage  he  says:  "If  the 
mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
which  w^ere  done  in  you  [Chorazin  and  Bethsaida], 
they  would  have  repented  long  ago  sitting  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes."  No  interpretation  which  is  not 
evacuating  can  fail  to  place  this  repentance  in 
the  act  of  ^^sittmg  in  sackcloth  and  ashes."  The 
words  "repented  ...  In  sackcloth  and  ashes"  also, 
in  Mat.  xi.  21,  definitely  place  the  mental  act  of 
repenting  in  its  symbolic  expression.  The  mental 
act  is  accompanied  by  its  physical  expression.  Does 
any  one  doubt  that  mourning  in  sackcloth  and  ashes 
meant  mourning  while  sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes? 
Were  not  all  the  symbols  of  mourning — going  bare- 
foot and  bareheaded,  abstaining  from  anointing  the 
head,  from  bathing  and  from  conversation,  scattering 
dust  and  ashes  into  the  air,  placing  them  upon  the 
head,  or  lying  down  in  them,  wearing  sackcloth,  strik- 
ing the  hands  together  or  tossing  them  towards  the 
sky,  smiting  the  thigh  or  breast,  fasting,  etc. — were 
not  all  these  accompaniments  of  the  mourning  itself? 
Not  only  does  the  language  of  Christ  distinctly  place 
this  repentance  in  the  act  of  "sitting  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes,"  but  the  entire  usage  of  this  and  other  symbols 
of  sorrow  shows  that  they  were  accompaniments  of 
that  which  they  represented.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Jesus  regarded  this  repentance,  whatever  its 
nature  might  be,  as  taking  place  while  sitting  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes;   and  this  sense  of  the  word  re/?e?i^- 

ance  was  one  of  the  most  familiar  to  the  minds  of  the 

278 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

Jewish  people.  The  usage  extended  back  through 
mauy  centuries  and  was  still  extant.* 

This  repentance  was  regarded  by  Jesus  as  one  of 
the  profoundest  and  most  deeply  earnest  character; 
and  it  is  with  this  import  that  he  adds  the  words  *'in 
sackcloth  and  ashes"  when  speaking  of  the  supposed 
repentance  of  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians.  He  recog- 
nizes the  law  that  a  great  and  soul-moving  repentance 
would  seek  some  strong  expressional  embodiment; 
and  thus  when  speaking  of  this  profoundly  earnest 
repentance,  he  represents  it  as  taking  place  in  an  act 
of  this  character.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  repentance  here  spoken  of  cannot  be  a  change  of 
purpose,  for  this  could  not  take  place  in  the  sack- 
cloth and  ashes. 

Here  then,  is  a  repentance,  whatever  it  may  be, 
which  was  wont  to  take  place  in  sackcloth  and  ashes. 
Under  the  pressure  of  the  divine  judgments  and  the 
stern  rebukes  of  faithful  prophets,  the  people  had 
again  and  again  been  brought  to  repentance  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes;  and  now  that  here  is  the  last  of  that 
illustrious  line  of  prophets  thundering  his  appeals 
into  the  ears  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  is  likely  that 
that  great  repentance  of  the  prophets  which  naturally 
took  place  hi  its  symbolic  expression  will  obtain  here. 
We  cannot  be  unmindful  of  what  repentance  had 
formerly  meant,  and  had  not  ceased  to  mean,  on  such 
occasions,  without  cutting  loose  from  the  past  and 
being  guilty  of  an  inexcusable  anachronism. 

What,  then,  was  this  repentance  which  loomed  so 


*In  a  footnote  to  Josephus'  Antiquities,  Book  viii.,  ch.  xiii.  §8, 
Jerome  (cited  by  Ryland)  says:  "The  Jews  weep  to  this  day  and 
roll  themselves  upon  sackcloth,  in  ashes,  barefoot,  upon  such 
occasions"  (referring  to  the  humiliation  of  Ahab). 

279 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

large  in  the  minds  of  the  Jewish  people  at  this  time, 
and  in  preceding  ages?  What  was  it  that  had  been 
wont  to  take  place  while  * 'sitting  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes"? 

It  has  been  usual  to  regard  sackcloth  and  ashes  as 
the  /jreat  symbol  of  mourning;  and  such  it  was,  but 
not  this  only.  The  repentance  in  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
or  in  sackcloth,  or  with  fasting,  was  more  than  mere 
sorrow.  When  King  Ahab  heard  of  the  judgments 
that  God  would  bring  upon  him  for  his  wickedness, 
it  is  said:  "And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Ahab  heard 
these  words,  that  he  rent  his  clothes,  and  put  sack- 
cloth upon  his  flesh,  and  fasted,  and  lay  in  sackcloth, 
and  went  softly.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to 
Elijah,  the  Tishbite,  saying,  Seest  thou  how  Ahab 
humbleth  himself  before  me?  because  he  humbleth 
himself  before  me,  I  will  not  bring  the  evil  in  his 
days;  but  in  his  son's  days  I  will  bring  the  ovil  upon 
his  house"  (1  Kings  xxi.  27-29).  The  most  prominent 
signification  here  connected  with  the  fasting  and  sit- 
ting in  sackcloth  and  ashes  is  that  of  submission  to 
God.  Ahab  "humbled"  himself.  Nor  must  we  over- 
look the  import  of  two  other  words — "before  me." 
God  said,  "Ahab  humbleth  himself  before  me." 
Ahab's  act  was  a  God  ward  act — a  social  act.  It  was 
a  symbolic  utterance  to  God;  it  was  submission;  it 
was  surrender.  His  course  had  been  one  of  rebellion 
against  God.  He  had  done  "very  abominably  in  fol- 
lowing idols,  according  to  all  that  the  Amorites  did," 
and  now  this  act  of  humble  submission  is  surrender 
to  God,  the  surrender  of  a  rebel.  It  said  with  a  loud 
voice:  "O  God,  I  yield,  I  submit  myself  to  thee  and 
humble  myself  in  the  dust  before  thee."  Here  is  a 
clear  case   of    repentance   in   sackcloth    and    ashes. 

280 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

What  is  it?  What  is  the  mental  element  in  Ahab's 
act?  It  is  not  change  of  purpose,  for  that  necessarily 
took  phice  before.  It  is  humble  submission  to  God, 
a  mental  act  of  surrender  to  him,  taking  place  in  a 
symbolic  act  of  expression,  called  for  by  the  feeling  of 
the  heart  itself.  Repentance  in  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
therefore,  was  far  more  than  sorrow  for  sin;  it  was  an 
act  of  profound  submission  to  God. 

But,  profoundly  expressive  as  was  this  act  of  itself, 
the  period  of  sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  or  of  fast- 
ing, as  the  case  might  be,  was  not  always,  and  perhaps 
never,  passed  in  unbroken  silence.  In  the  account 
of  the  repentance  of  the  Ninevites  with  fasting  and 
sackcloth  and  ashes,  as  reported  in  the  third  chapter 
of  the  Book  of  Jonah,  we  read  that  the  people  were 
instructed  by  the  king  to  "cry  mightily  unto  God" 
and  to  "turn  every  one  from  his  evil  way."  What 
the  people  said  in  this  mighty  cry  to  God,  we  are 
not  told,  but  we  know  that  if  it  had  not  contained  a 
surrender,  their  prayer  would  have  frozen  on  their 
lipso  We  need  not  be  told  that  it  contained  confes- 
sion, submission,  surrender  and  pleadings  for  mercy. 
But  the  king  bade  them  also  to  "turn  every  one  from 
his  evil  way."  We  cannot  be  sure  from  the  narrative 
that  this  turning  was  regarded  as  taking  place  simply 
in  this  solemn  act  of  submission;  but  it  is  certain 
that  this  act  of  profound  mourning  for  sin  and  sur- 
render to  God,  itself  constituted  a  most  solemn  leave- 
taking  of  the  past  and  entrance  upon  a  better  course. 
It  was  a  turning. 

But  what  we  are  left  to  infer  in  this  case  is  distinct- 
ly stated  in  another.  In  a  time  of  famine  and  nation- 
al disaster,  Joel  exhorts  the   people,   saying:     "Yet 

even  now,  saith  the  Lord,  turn  ye  unto   me  with  all 

281 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

your  heart,  and  with  fasting,  and  with  weeping  and 
with  mourning:  and  rond  your  heart  and  not  your 
garments,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God"  (Joel  ii. 
12,  13).  Here,  in  an  act  of  fasting,  weeping  and 
mourning,  the  people  were  exhorted  to  turn  to  God^ 
It  was  this  that  they  were  to  do,  with  these  accompan- 
iments. The  fasting  was  not  to  embrace  simply  weep- 
ing and  mourning,  but  pre-eminently  a  turning  *'unto 
the  Lord."  This  turning  was  to  be  a  whole-hearted 
act,  a  sincere  turning  to  God. 

But  what  does  this  mean?  Was  it  simply  a  change 
of  feelings  or  of  purpose  in  reference  to  God?  It 
could  not  possibly  be  this,  since  there  would  be  no 
fasting  or  weeping  and  mourning  until  after  this  had 
taken  place.  What  this  turning  to  the  Lord  meant, 
may  be  learned  from  another  passage. 

In  II.  Chron.  xxx.  8,  9,  we  read:  "Now  be  ye  not 
stiff-necked  as  your  fathers  were;  but  yield  yourselves 
unto  the  Lord,  and  enter  into  his  sanctuary,  which  he 
hath  sanctified  forever,  and  serve  the  Lord  your  God, 
that  his  fierce  anger  may  turn  away  from  you.  For  if 
ye  turn  again  unto  the  Lord,  your  brethren  and  your 
children  shall  find  compassion  before  them  that  led 
them  captive,  and  shall  come  again  into  this  land:  for 
the  Lord  your  God  is  gracious  and  merciful,  and  will 
not  turn  away  his  face  from  you,  if  ye  return  unto 
hiu>."  The  words,  "For  if  ye  turn  again  unto  the 
Lord,"  at  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  verse,  are  a 
reference  to  what  had  been  described  in  the  preced- 
ing verse  as  a  yielding  to  God  and  entrance  upon  his 
service.  Let  it  be  observed  also,  that  in  the  pictorial 
imagery  of  the  Hebrew,  the  sense  of  the  word 
"yield,"  as  given  in  the  margin,  is  "give  the  hand." 

This  is  expressive  of  a  social  act — not  a  mere  change 

282 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

of  feelings,  but  that  which  follows  such  a  change — 
the  act  of  surrendering  to  God,  or  entering  into  cor- 
dial relations  with  him. 

In  view  of  these  examples,  the  following  conclu- 
sions are  warranted:  1.  When  repentance  was  asso- 
ciated with  any  symbolic  act  expressive  of  it,  such  as 
sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  or  fasting,  it  was  re- 
garded as  taking  place  in  the  act.  2.  The  spiritual 
act  which  took  place  in  the  symbolic  act  was  not  sim- 
ply that  of  mourning  for  sin,  but  also  and  most 
emphatically,  humble  submission,  or  surrender  to 
God,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  expressed,  turning  to 
God.  Of  the  four  cases  mentioned,  only  one — that 
of  Joel — says  anything  about  sorrow,  leaving  that  to 
be  implied;  but  they  all  speak  of  either  a  humbling 
before  God,  or  a  turning  to  him.  This  was  the  prom 
inent,  and,  in  all  cases,  indispensable  element.  3. 
We  see  that  the  type  of  the  Jewish  mind,  which  was 
not  metaphysical,  did  not  seize  predominantly  on  the 
mere  change  of  purpose,  but  fixed  its  view  upon  that 
mental  step  which  immediately  succeeds  such  change 
of  purpose,  and  necessarily  implies  it,  viz.,  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  purpose  in  the  spiritual-social  act  of 
surrender  to  God,  or  submitting  oneself  to  him. 
This  surrender  or  turning  to  God  was  to  be  with  all 
the  heart  (Joel  ii.  12),  and  if  the  sorrow  and  submis- 
sion were  not  genuine,  the  act  was  an  abomination 
before  God  (see  Isaiah  Iviii.  3,4).  This  idea  of  re- 
pentance was  not  less  spiritual  than  the  one  which 
prevailed  later.  It  caught  the  flight  of  the  soul  to 
God,  not  awing,  but  rather  reaching  its  goal.  The 
Jew  was  wont  to  fix  his  gaze  less  prominently  on  pwr- 
posive  than  on   factual  repentance.      Cremer's   N'ew 

Testament  Greek  Lexicon  says  that  the  Hebrew  word 

283 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

''usually  employed  to  denote  moral  change  or  conver- 
sion is  in  the  LXX  rendered  by  eTrto-rpe^etv  [to  turn], 
and  not  by  fteravoeti/, ' '  a  fact  which  readily  appears  on  ex- 
amination  of  the  Septuagint  with  a  Greek  concord- 
ance. This  fact  is  not  without  significance.  In  pass- 
ing from  a  life  of  sin  and  disobedience  to  a  life  of 
faithful  and  devout  service  of  God,  four  mental  steps 
may  be  involved.  There  may  be  (a)  a  change  of 
opinion  or  belief,  (b)  a  change  of  feelings,  (c)  a 
change  of  purpose,  and  (d)  a  turning  to  God,  or  giv- 
ing oneself  up  to  him  in  holy  service,  resulting 
from  the  preceding  change  of  purpose.  Now,  of 
these  four  steps,  the  verb  eTna-Tpicfio)  points  specifically 
to  the  last.  It  implies  the  others,  and  in  a  looser 
sense  may  be  used  to  embrace  them;  but  it  definitely 
means  not  only  a  "turning  from  a  certain  state  or 
conduct,"  but  also  "a  positive  entrance  upon  a  cer- 
tain state  or  conduct";*  and  when  followed  by  the 
words  "unto  the  Lord,"  it  designates  a  social  act 
graphically  described  as  "giving  the  hand"  to  God. 
When,  therefore,  repentance  was  attended  by  any 
symbolic  act  of  expression,  such  as  sitting  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes  or  fasting,  this  mental  act  of  turning 
would  most  naturally  and  fitly  take  place  in  it,  not 
before  it.  But  let  it  be  distinctly  noted,  that  if  this 
repentance,  or  turning,  had  consisted  of  any  of  the 
preceding  steps,  such  as  change  of  purpose  or  change 
of  feeling,  it  could  not  have  taken  place  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes.  This  great  Jewish  repentance,  therefore, 
was  specifically  that  mental  act  which  follows  change 
of  feeling  and  purpose.  But  it  was  not  merely  formal; 
it  was  the  real  spiritual  act  of  surrender  to  God,  all 


*Cremer's  Lexicon y  sub  voce. 

284 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

that  had  preceded  it  being  an  emotional  and  pur- 
posive change,  and  not  a  mental  act  directed  to  God. 
It  was  not  a  mere  profession.  It  was  a  profoundly 
spiritual  act — a  contrite  giving  oneself  up  to  God 
in  holy  service,  and,  if  performed  in  sincerity,  a  deep- 
ening and  fortifying  of  all  that  had  taken  place  in 
the  initial  sorrow  and  change  of  purpose.  It  was  a 
greatening  of  repentance, — as  we  now  understand 
that  word, — a  descent  into  the  depths,  a  deep,  solemn 
turning  from  sin  to  God.  It  embodied  sorrow,  con- 
trition for  sin,  a  solemn  and  impressive  leave-taking 
of  the  old  life,  a  heartfelt  surrender  to  God,  and  an 
entrance  in  holy  consecration  upon  his  service.  And 
this  all  took  place  in  (and  fitly  so)  an  external  act  of 
expression. 

The  profound  spiritual  value  of  such  a  repentance 
bears  the  seal  of  Christ's  own  approval  when  he  re- 
fers to  it  (Mt.  xi.  21)  as  the  most  deeply  earnest 
form  of  repentance  known  to  the  people  of  his  time. 

These  are  the  facts  regarding  the  prevailing  Jewish 
conception  of  repentance.  What  bearing  have  they 
on  John's  language  in  Mt.  iii.  11?  It  is  certain 
that  if  the  repentance  he  preached  was  connected 
with  a  symbolic  act,  it  not  only  might,  from  its  nature, 
take  place  in  the  symbolic  act,  but  this  had  been  the 
common  understanding,  and  as  we  learn  from  the 
language  of  Christ  already  referred  to,  was  still  the 
understanding  of  the  Jewish  people  regarding  such 
acts.  As  in  hand- shaking  the  mental  act  of  greeting 
takes  place,  and  fulfills  itself  in  the  physical  act,  so 
had  repentance  been  wont  to  take  place  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes,  fasting,  etc.  But  what  shall  the  symbolic 
act  be  in  this  case? 

John's  message  was  not  one   of  calamity.     It  was 

285 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

not  like  the  doomful  i3roclamation  of  Jonah,  nor,  as 
in  Joel,  did  it  have  reference  to  famine  and  disaster, 
but  it  was  the  announcement  of  the  hope  of  Israel. 
It  was  the  foregleam  of  the  rising  sun.  It  was  a  joy- 
ful message.  Hence  the  repentance  he  preaches  can- 
not be  one  of  predominant  mourning;  and  to  adopt 
such  a  symbol  would  but  insure  hypocrisy  in  its  use. 
Sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  could  not  represent 
such  a  repentance.  Another  symbol,  therefore,  is 
introduced — one  which  does  not  dispense  with  con- 
trition, but  sets  a  bow  in  its  cloud.  This  repentance 
is  no  prolonged  period  of  mourning,  but  a  sorrow- 
glad  TURNING,  and  may  well  find  expression  in  bap- 
tism. 

Let  us  now  read  this  typical  repentance  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  into 
John's  language:  "I  indeed  baptize  you  in  water  in 
order  to  your  solemn  abandonment  of  your  past,  and 
your  contrite  surrender  to  God  and  entrance  upon  his 
service."  Well,  if  John's  baptism  was  not  a  mere 
empty  ceremony — a  mere  outward  act — that  is  just 
what  it  was  for;  and  the  repentance — the  turning,  the 
"giving  the  hand"  to  God — took  place  in  the  sym- 
bolic act,  just  where  the  Jews  were  wont  to  place  it. 
Here  all  difficulty  with  this  passage  vanishes.  John's 
language  is  very  happily  expressive  of  just  what  took 
place.  The  baptism  was  in  order  to  (with  a  view,  to) 
this  repentance. 

John's  baptism,  however,  was  not  only  a  baptism 
"unto  (eis)  repentance,"  but  also  "unto  (eis)  remis- 
sion of  sins."  The  construction  in  both  cases  is 
precisely  the  same.  Do  these  expressions  locate 
similarly  the  repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins? 

The  same  expression  concerning  remission  of  sins  is 

286 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

used  in  regard  to  Christian  baptism  in  Acts  ii.  38 — 
€L<;  acfjea-Lv  (iiiito  remission).     But  this  is  also  spoken  of 
in  Acts  xxii.  16  under  the  figure  of  a  ivashing  away 
of  sin.     Now  in  washing,  the  cleansing  is  not  effectecP 
after  the  washing,  but  in  the  act.    The  same  is  true  of 
Peter's  reference  to  the  salvation  of  Noah  and   his 
family  in  the  ark,  which  he  declares  to  be  a  type  of 
baptism.     The  "eight  souls"  were  not  saved  by  water 
aftei^  the  flood,  but  while  the  water  was  bearing  the 
ark   up,  and   thus   preventing   the   drowning   of    itsj 
inmates.      Titus   iii.    5   conveys    a  similar    thought. 
The  salvation  is  represented  as   being  accomplished 
^Hhrough  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  not  after  it.    These  references  do 
not  imply  that  the  water  of  baptism  has  any  inde- 
pendent saving  efficacy,  but  they  do  imply  that  the 
remission   of  sins   was  regarded   as  taking  place  in 
baptism.     If  the  *'unto  (eis)  remission  of  sins,"  when 
referring    to    Christian   baptism,    points   to   such    a 
relation   between    baptism  and  remission,  the   same 
language  would  indicate  that  remission  of  sins  took 
place  also  in  John's  baptism;  and  thus  remission  of 
sins  would   sustain   precisely    the    same  relation  to 
baptism,  in  point  of  time,  as  repentance  did.     The 
language  is  "unto  (ets)  repentance"  in  one  case,  and 
"unto  (ets)  remission  of  sins"  in  the  other;  and  both 
expressions   point  to   a  purpose  reaching  its  accom- 
plishment in  baptism.     Thus  the  whole  transaction 
grows  luminous;  for  John's  baptism  was  nothing  else 
than  a  meeting  place  of  the  sinner  and  his  God.     It 
was  a  divine-human  act;  on  the  part  of  the  sinner,  a 
farewell  to  sin  and  a  surrender  to  God,  the  "giving  of 
the  hand,"  the  reaching  up  of  the  soul  to  God  in  holy 

commitment;  on  the  part  of  God,  the  remission  of 

287 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

sins,  the  kiss  of  reconciliation.  It  was  a  holy  place; 
and  well  might  John  warn  off  all  profane  hearts  from 
such  ground,  as  he  did  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
in  verses  7-12.  John's  baptism  was  a  burial  from  the 
old  life,  and  a  rising  to  a  life  of  righteousness;  and  it 
was  a  washing  in  which  God  remitted  the  sins  of  the 
penitent. 

It  has  been  the  object  of  this  examination  to  pre- 
sent nothing  but  facts;  and  it  is  seen  that  under  their 
light,  the  entire  lano:uage  regarding  John's  baptism 
stands  out  in  the  symmetry  of  perfect  fitness,  and  the 
whole  institution  grows  holy  with  a  new  light.  Well 
might  it  be  called  a  *'baptism  of  repentance,"  for  it 
held  repentance  as  the  casket  holds  the  jewel.  Well 
might  it  be  said  to  be  **unto  repentance,"  for  that 
was  just  what  it  was  for;  and  "unto  remission  of 
sins,"  for  it  was  for  that  also.  Its  spiritual  element 
was  the  spiritual  clasping  of  hands  between  the  soul 
and  its  God.  If  we  drop  the  word  "repentance," 
with  its  later  limitations  of  meaning,  and  substitute 
the  word  which  generally  stands  for  that  act  in  the 
Old  Testament,  all  difficulty  vanishes  from  this  pass- 
age. John's  baptism  was  the  baptism  of  turning, 
because  it  was  the  turning  act — the  act  in  which  the 
people  turned  to  God.  He  baptized  them  *'unto,"  or 
**in  order  to"  turning,  because  the  very  purpose  of 
the  act  was  that  they  should  turn  to  God — spiritually 
"give  the  hand"  to  God— in  it. 

It  is  important  for  us  to  observe,  however,  that  this 
meaning  of  repentance  (/xeravota)  was  probably  not  the 
only  one,  even  at  that  time.  The  Greek-speaking 
Jews  had  for  centuries  been  familiar  with  fxerdvoLa 
with  its  classical  senses;   and  there  is  no  reason  to 

doubt  that  other  senses  of  the  word  existed  side  by 

288 


SOME    SIDE-LIGHTS 

side  with  this ;  nor  can  we  be  sure  that  even  in  speak- 
ing of  John's  repentance  the  word  always  has  this 
meaning.  As  Prof.  Sanday  says  that  Paul  glides  from 
one  sense  of  the  word  faith  to  another,  as  the  hand  of 
a  violin  player  passes  from  one  string  to  another;  so 
may  the  inspired  writers  have  passed  from  one  to  the 
other  of  the  meanings  of  repentance,  and  this  even 
unconsciously,  as  is  often  done.  It  is  only  necessary 
that  we  recognize  that  the  sense  just  described  was 
one  of  the  meanings  of  the  word  i^epentance  which 
lay  familiarly  in  the  minds  of  the  people  at  that  time. 
Then,  according  to  the  mental  aptitude  by  which  we 
swiftly  and  unconsciously  fit  meaning  to  context,  this 
meaning  would  take  its  place  in  such  a  passage  as 
Mt.  iii.  11.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  there  is 
nowhere  any  statement  regarding  John's  repentance 
that  this  definition  will  not  fully  satisfy;  and,  while 
we  have  not  the  data  for  a  definite  conclusion,  there 
is  no  reason  to  think  that  he  used  the  word  in  any 
other  sense.  He  called  the  people  to  a  solemn  leave- 
taking  of  their  sins,  and  a  heart-felt  surrender  to  God 
and  entrance  upon  his  faithful  service,  and  then  bade 
them  bring  forth  fruits  befitting  such  a  step.  This 
meaning  of  the  word  implies,  or  presupposes,  change 
of  purpose  and  everything  else  which  belongs  to  any 
conception  of  repentance;  but  the  focus  of  vision  is 
fixed  on  the  contrite  turning  from  the  life  of  sin  and 
surrender  to  God,  rather  than  on  the  change  of 
purpose. 

But  something  afterward  happened  to  this  defini- 
tion of  repentance,  and  it  finally  passed  out  of  use. 
What  befell  it,  and  how  it  came  about,  must  now  be 
considered.     As  soon  as  we  reach  Christian  baptism, 

we  become  aware,  by  the  change  of  phraseology,  that 
19  289 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

something  has  happened.  We  also  discover  that  this 
change  appertains,  not  to  the  relation  of  baptism  to 
remission,  but  to  its  relation  to  repentance.  Both 
baptisms  are  said  to  be  "unto  (eig)  remission  of  sins,'* 
but  Christian  baptism  (1)  is  never,  like  John's  bap- 
tism, called  a  "baptism  of  repentance";  (2)  it  is 
never  said  to  be  *'unto  repentance";  and  (3)  it  is, 
unlike  John's  baptism,  said  to  be  preceded  by  re- 
pentance (Acts  ii.  38).  This  change  of  expression 
evidently  points  to  some  underlying  difference,  and 
locates  that  difference  in  the  relation  of  repentance 
to  baptism.  What  is  the  nature  of  this  change,  and 
what  brought  it  about? 

I  think  we  may  say  unhesitatingly  that  it  is  all  due 
to  the  presence  of  a  new  factor  in  conversion — ^e/-- 
sonal  faith  in  Christ — the  act  of  personal  adhesion  to 
Christ — entrance  into  union  with  him. 

John's  converts  had  the  usual  Jewish  faith  in  God, 
and  superadded  to  this  a  belief  in  the  near  approach 
of  the  Messiah  and  his  kingdom,  but  this  was  vastly 
different  from  personal  faith  in  Christ.  The  Jewish 
nation  had  long  believed  in  God  and  cherished  the 
hope  of  Israel,  and  John's  disciples  added  to  this 
only  the  belief  that  its  fulfilment  was  near  at  hand; 
but,  in  personal  faith  in  Christ  we  have  the  over- 
shadowing and  distinctive  feature  of  Christianity. 

In  the  examination  of  the  nature  of  this  faith,  it 
was  shown  that  it  embraced  within  itself  self-surren- 
der to  God,  and  a  death  to  (quittance  of)  the  old  life 
and  entrance  upon  a  new — that  is,  it  completely  sub- 
sumed, or  drew  into  itself,  the  repentance  of  John. 
The  spiritual  element  of  Christian  baptism,  therefore, 
like  John's,  embraces  a  dying  to  sin  and  a  rising  to  a 

better  life,  together  with  a  surrender  to  God,  but  it 

290 


SOMF.    8inE-LI(;ilTS 

includes  soinethiug  vastly  more — personal  faith  in 
Christ,  union  with  him;  and  this  new  element  is  so 
characteristic,  and  of  such  overshadowing  import- 
ance, that  it  gives  the  na7ne  to  the  whole.  Cremer's 
Biblico-Theological  Lexicon  speaking  of  the  passage 
in  Mt.  iii.  11,  says:  "There  is  a  distinction  between 
the  baptism  of  John  and  that  of  the  Messianic 
church,  in  which  ^crdvoia  is  appropriated  by  Trto-rts. 
The  baptism  of  John  is  styled  Kar  ii,  the  (Sd-n-Tiafm 
/xeravoca?  [the  baptism  of  repentance]  in  Mk.  i.  4; 
Lk.  iii.  3;  Acts  xiii.  24,  xix.  4 — we  might  according- 
ly designate  Christian  baptism  pdima-im  irL(TTeo}<s  [the 
baptism  of  faith].  Compare  Acts  xix.  4,5,"  etc. 
Thus  faith  takes  the  place  of  the  repentance  of  John. 
We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  with  respect  to  this 
change,  but  are  able  to  look  directly  in  upon  the  pro- 
cess and  observe  the  change  actually  taking  place. 
During  Christ's  earthly  ministry,  the  many  who  re- 
ceived him  and  became  his  disciples  abandoned  their 
sinful  lives,  surrendered  or  conlmitted  themselves  to 
him,  and  entered  upon  a  morally  and  religiously  new 
course  of  life  as  his  disciples.  Now,  this  was  called 
coming  to  him  (Jn.  vi.  35;  Lk.  xiv.  26,  27),  receiving 
him  (Jn.  i.  12),  or  believing  on  (ets — into  union  with) 
him.  (See  passages  referred  to  and  many  others.) 
But  the  question  now  arises,  Why  was  this  called 
faith  rather  than  repentance?  I  think  we  have  a  com- 
plete answer  in  the  nature  of  Christ's  mission.  This 
was  not,  like  that  of  the  prophets,  a  simple  calling  of 
the  people  back  to  righteousness  or  the  prediction  of 
some  future  blessing  or  calamity.  It  included  these, 
but  it  was  something  vastly  more  and  different.  It 
was   a   proposition  to   transform   human  nature,   to 

re-make   men,   to    give   them   new  life,    and   to  this 

291 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

end  to  establish  a  vital  connection  between  himself 
and  them,  flooding  their  life  with  a  new  vital  force. 
And  this  transformation  was  to  free  them  from  the 
drudgery  of  righteousness,  and  make  it  a  delight  and 
a  passion  to  which  they  might  abandon  themselves  as 
they  formerly  had  been  wont  to  abandon  themselves 
to  sin;  and  then,  in  pursuance  of  such  ennoblement 
of  nature,  they  were  to  be  raised  to  the  station  of  sons 
of  God  and  empalaced  in  the  royal  mansions  of  the 
Eternal  Father.  And  this,  Jesus  taught,  was  all  to 
be  brought  about  by  uniting  with  him  and  clinging  to 
him.  This  was  the  very  heart  of  Jesus'  mission;  not 
so  much  the  preaching  of  duty — though  this  was  in- 
volved— as  the  preaching  of  to  evayyiXiov^  this  glad 
neivs,  or  gospel. 

Now,  such  a  proposition  would  appeal  predom- 
inantly to  faith.  The  great  question  with  men  would 
be,  can  all  this  be  true?  How  can  a  man  be  born 
again,  or  be  re-made?  And  who  is  this  Jesus?  Can 
he  make  all  these  claims  good?  Then,  having  become 
satisfied  on  these  points,  there  would  be  the  actual 
intrustment  of  themselves  to  him  to  be  made  over, 
or  faith  in  the  sense  of  practical  trust.  And  then, 
according  to  Christ's  teaching,  a  close,  personal, 
affectionate  adhesion — clinging  to  him — was  essential 
to  the  establishment  of  the  moral,  vital  connection;  so 
that  they  might  dwell  in  him  as  a  branch  dwells  in 
the  vine.  Thus,  while  commitment  to  Christ  involved 
the  elements  of  John's  repentance,  this  faith  sub- 
sumed or  took  all  this  in.  As  the  sun  in  the  heavens 
eclipses  all  other  lights,  causing  them  to  be  lost  to 
view  in  its  floods  of  glory,  so  that,  while  it  is  literally 
true  that  we  have  starlight  at  midday  as  well  as  at 

midnight,   the   starlight   is   nevertheless   lost  in   the 

292 


SOME   SIDE-LIGHTS 

greater  glory;  so  the  faith  of  Christ  swept  the  re- 
pentance of  John  into  itself,  and  it  died  into  a  higher 
life — faith.     It  was  a  rivulet  lost  in  the  Mississippi. 

But  this  great  act  of  believing  oneself  into  union 
with  Christ  was  naturally  preceded  by  some  prepara- 
tory steps.  It  was  first  necessary  that  his  claims  and 
proposals  should  be  credited.  Hence  we  have  belief, 
or  faith  in  its  lower  sense — what  Alexander  Campbell 
calls  the  ''cause"  of  the  personal  faith  in  Christ. 
When  this  step  has  been  taken,  there  springs  out  of 
a  glad  sorrow  a  new  moral  purpose  to  forsake  sin  and 
join  oneself  to  Christ.  But  this  change  of  purpose 
was  one  of  the  meanings  of  /xeravota  (repentance) — the 
leading  one  which  it  brought  with  it  from  the  Greek 
language.  Hence,  of  course,  this  step  will  be  called 
by  that  name,  and  we  thus  have  the  specific  use  of  the 
word  repentance  in  Christian  conversion.  Then  fol- 
lows the  greatest,  most  momentous  and  epochal  step 
of  the  life — personal  faith  in  Christ,  described  by 
Alexander  Campbell  as  "faith  in  Christ,"  as  lovingly 
and  loyally  ''yielding  to  requisition,"  and  as  "trusting 
in  him  and  putting  ourselves  under  his  guidance"; 
and  by  others  as  appropriative  trust,  and  entrance 
into  union  with  Christ. 

Thus,  by  observing  the  facts  as  they  lie  before  us  in 
the  narratives,  we  have  a  complete  explanation  of  the 
change  of  phraseology  in  regard  to  repentance  in  its 
relation  to  baptism.  It  is  not  the  solution  of  a  diffi- 
culty by  pointing  out  what  might  have  taken  place, 
but  by  noting  what  actually  did  take  place.  The 
reason,  then,  why  Christian  baptism  is  not  called  a 
"])aptism  of  repentance"  is  that  it  is  the  baptism  of 

faith;  the  reason  why  it  is  never  said  to  be  a  baptism 

293 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

"unto  repentance"  is  that  it  is  a  baptism  unto  faith;* 
and  as  one  of  the  former  meanings  of  repentance  has 
been  subsumed  in  this  faith,  the  repentance  of  Chris- 
tian conversion  naturally  applies  to  another  step  in 
the  process.  That  the  Scriptures  so  regard  it,  let  us 
observe  that  the  repentance  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  or 
in  fasting,  the  great  typical  repentance  of  the  Jewish 
nation  and  of  the  prophets,  was  not  specifically  a 
change  of  purpose  (or  it  could  not  have  taken  place 
in  sackcloth  and  ashes),  but  a  turning  to  the  Lord 
(cTTto-Tpec^w) ;  but  that  the  specific  repentance  of  Chris- 
tian conversion  is  not  a  turning  to  the  Lord,  but  a 
step  antecedent  to  such  turning.  Peter,  in  Acts  iii. 
19,  exhorts  the  people,  saying:  * 'Repent  ye  therefore, 
and  turn  again,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out," 
etc.;  and,  in  Acts  xxvi.  20,  Paul  declares  that  it  had 
been  his  wont  to  preach  to  both  Je^vs  and  Gentiles 
"that  they  should  repent  and  turn  to  God,  doing 
works  worthy  of  repentance."  In  both  these  pas- 
sages repentance  and  turning  are  distinguished,  and 
stand  to  each  other  as  cause  and  effect;  and  in  both, 
the  word  translated  "turn,"  is  eivLa-Tpi^w,  the  word 
commonly  used  in  the  Septuagint  to  represent  the 
Jewish  repentance.  We  have  here  a  confirmation  in 
Christian  usage  of  the  very  position  to  which  the 
facts  of  the  gospel  history  had  conducted  us.  Repent- 
ance had  formerly  been  a  turning  (eTrio-r/oe^etv) ;  it  now 
takes  place  before  the  turning.  It  therefore  now  ap- 
plies to  a  different  step  in  the  process  of  conversion, 
and  its  exact  position  is  here  indicated. 


*Lange's  Commentarj'^  represents  John's  baptism  as  a  "baptism 
unto  repentance"  and  Christian  baptism  as  a  iDaptism  "unto  faith 
in  Him  [Christ]  and  the  confession  of  Him." — Coin.y  iii  locis  Mt. 
iii.  11  and  Acts  xix.  5. 

294 


SOIVIE   SIDE-LIGHTS 

Not  only  is  the  turning  to  God  represented  as  fol- 
lowing repentance  in  Christian  conversion,  but  both 
faith  and  baptism  are  made  to  occupy  the  same  posi- 
tion. Paul  testified  to  both  Jews  and  Greeks  "re- 
pentance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ"  (Acts  xx.  21.  Of.  also  Mk.  i.  15),  and 
Peter  commanded  the  multitude  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost to  repent  and  be  baptized  (Acts  ii.  38).  Thus 
turning  to  God,  this  faith,  and  baptism  all  stand  as 
sequent  to  repentance.  Are  they  different  acts?  If 
faith  be  a  coming  to  Christ  (Jn.  vi.  35),  a  receiving 
him  (Jn.  i.  12),  and  an  obeying  him  (Jn.  iii.  36),  it  is, 
by  its  nature,  the  great  turning  act.  If  baptism  be  a 
death  to  sin  (Rom.  vi.  2,  6),  a  uniting  with  Christ 
{v.  5),  and  a  putting  him  on  (Gal.  iii.  27),  it  is  also, 
by  its  nature,  the  great  turning  act.  This  faith  and 
the  spiritual  element  in  baptism  are  the  same,  and 
they  are  by  their  nature  the  turning  act  in  conversion. 
Peter  places  this  turning  and  baptism  in  precisely  the 
same  position  in  conversion.  In  Acts  ii.  38  he  com- 
mands men  to  repent  and  be  baptized  unto  (ets)  re- 
mission of  sins,  and  in  Acts  iii.  19  he  commands  them 
to  repent  and  turn  again  that  (eis,  unto)  their  sins 
maybe  blotted  out.  Thus  he  places  baptism  between 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins,  and,  with  the  same 
connecting  word  (eis),  places  the  turning  in  the  same 
position.  Baptism  and  this  turning  are  not  precisely 
the  same  thing,  for  baptism  has  more  in  it  than  the 
candidate's  part,  but  the  candidate  turns  to  God  in 
his  baptism.  All  that  precedes  is  but  preparatory  to 
this  act  of  surrender  and  entrance  into  union  with 
Christ,  which  is  the  great  turning  act. 

John  was  the  last  of  the  prophets,  and  his  repent- 
ance was  that  of  the  prophets;  but  that  repentance 

295 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

was  a  spiritual  act  fitted  to  take  place  (as  it  often 
did)  in  a  physical  act  of  expression.  Appropriative 
faith  in  Christ  (not  Christian  repentance)  takes  the 
place  of  that  repentance  in  Christian  conversion;  and 
it  is  accordingly  fitted  to  (and  does)  take  place  in  its 
physical  act  of  expression — baptism. 

All  this  has  an  important  bearing  on  our  position. 
Here  is  a  passage  which,  according  to  the  common 
understanding  of  its  terms,  seems  to  contradict  the 
facts  of  spiritual  experience.  No  rendering  of  eis 
which  reputable  scholarship  honors  with  its  sanc- 
tion permits  us  to  place  this  repentance  before  bap- 
tism, and  none  of  our  usual  meanings  of  repentance 
gives  a  good  sense  after  it.  But  when  we  recognize 
that  the  profoundest  repentance  known  to  the  Jewish 
people  at  that  time,  and  one  most  highly  honored  by 
Christ  himself,  was  regarded  as  taking  place  in  the 
physical  act  which  represented  it,  and  forming  the 
spiritual  element  in  that  act;  and  when  we  note  care- 
fully just  what  that  repentance  was,  and  then  place  it 
in  John's  baptism,  where  according  to  spiritual  laws 
it  belonged,  all  difliculties  vanish,  and  corroborations 
come  in  from  every  direction.  In  brief,  we  cannot 
place  this  repentance  before  baptism  for  linguistic 
reasons*  nor  after  it,  for  psychological  reasons.  The 
Jews  placed  the  profoundest  repentance  known  to 
them  ^?^  its  symbolic  act;  when  we  place  this  repent- 
ance there  all  difficulties  cease.  Our  difficulty  with 
this  passage,  as  well  as  with  much  else  found  in  the 
Scriptures  regarding  baptism,  is  that  we  have  drifted 
away  from  the  primitive  ways  of  thinking  regarding 

such  acts.     The  divorce  between  the  spiritual  and  the 

296 


SOME   SIDE-LIGHTS 

expressional  had  not  then  been  made— and  it  should 
not  be  made  now ;  for  the  Scriptural  way  is  the  way 

of  the  heart. 

297 


CHAPTER  III. 

FAITH  DURING  THE   PERIOD    OF   CHRIST'S   EARTHLY 
MINISTRY. 

We  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  faith  in 
Christ's  time.  We  have  already  seen  that  believing 
on  (eis)  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  coming  to  him,  as  re- 
ceiving him,  and  as  obeying  him,  and  is  defined  by  our 
lexical  authorities  as  **to  give  oneself  up  to"  him,  to 
"resign  oneself  unto"  him,  and  to  enter  into  *'self- 
surreiidering  fellowship"  with  him.  It  is  plain  that 
in  these  designations  the  thought  relates  specifically 
to  the  final  step  in  conversion.  They  all  point  to  an 
act  of  self-surrender  and  appropriation  of  Christ. 
The  previous  steps  are  certainly  implied,  for  this 
could  not  take  place  without  them,  but  they  are  not 
brought  into  view. 

This,  however,  was  not  always  the  case.  Of  the 
three  steps  taken  by  the  mind  in  conversion — belief  of 
the  truth  concerning  Christ,  an  earnest  and  heartfelt 
resolution  to  forsake  all  that  is  inconsistent  with  his 
service  (repentance),  and  an  entrance  into  vital  union 
with  him  (appropriative  faith)— it  is  certain  that  the 
first  is  sometimes  embraced  in  the  meaning  of  the 
term  to  believe  on  (et?)  him.  This  is  clearly  the  case 
in  Jn.  ii.  23,  where  the  belief  of  the  people  is  said  to 
have  been  due  to  the  **signs  which  he  did,"  thus 
showing  that  it  embraced  intellectual  conviction, 
while  the  context  indicates  that  it  also  included  more 
than  that.  In  such  cases  believing  on  Christ  is  made 
to  include  the  entire  process  of  conversion,  and  it  is 

evident  that,  when  so  used,  it  cannot  be  viewed  as 

298 


FAITH   DURING   CHRIST'S   EARTHLY   MINISTRY 

taking  place  in  any  act  of  profession.  Partial  inclu- 
sion is  all  that  can  be  affirmed  of  profession  in  such 
a  case.  The  act — or  rather  the  process — of  believing 
on  Christ  will  then  coincide  with  profession  only  in 
its  final  step. 

This  differs  somewhat  from  the  former  repre- 
sentation, by  which  believing  on  Christ — in  the  sense 
of  the  appropriating  act — takes  place  in  profession, 
but  the  two  views  agree  in  placing  precisely  the 
same  spiritual  act  in  profession,  and  they  would 
ordinarily  be  designated  by  the  same  terms.  In 
either  case  the  act  of  believing  is  so  bound  up  with 
profession  as  not  to  take  place  without  it.  Believ- 
ing on  Christ  would  therefore  be  represented  as  a 
spiritual-professional  act,  an  act  which  embraces  pro 
fession.  This  is  what  we  should  expect  if  our  inter- 
pretation in  the  preceding  chapters  has  been  correct. 
If,  in  this  educative  period,  when  the  apostles  were 
receiving  their  first  ideas  of  faith,  it  was  represented 
as  embracing  profession,  it  would  be  perfectly  natural 
for  them  in  their  own  teaching  to  place  the  spiritual 
act  of  appropriation  in  baptism  where  it  must  be  if 
baptism  be  a  condition  of  salvation.  But,  if  faith 
and  profession  were  regarded  at  this  period  as  differ- 
ent acts,  having  no  relation  to  each  other  beyond  that 
of  cause  and  effect,  and  more  or  less  distantly  sepa- 
rated in  point  of  time,  such  a  course  on  the  part  of 
the  apostles  would  seem  inconsistent. 

Before  questioning  the  Scriptures  on  this  point,  it 
may  be  well  to  notice  that  in  this  formative  period,  in 
which  steps  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  were  being  taken,  we  are  not  informed  that 
there  was  any  fixed  and  invariable  form  of  profes- 
sion.    That  Jesus  required  men  to  profess  him  open- 

299 


MOKAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

ly,  as  a  condition  of  being  owned  by  him,  is  certain 
(Mt.  X.  32)  ;  but  whether  the  profession  was  made  in 
words  or  by  some  expressive  bodily  act,  we  are  not 
informed.*  The  word  6/xoXoyea),  rendered  confess^  is 
not  confined  in  its  meaning  to  simple  verbal  pro- 
fession, but  may  apply  to  all  the  means  of  acknow- 
ledgment of  another.!  It  is  not  improbable  that 
profession  during  Christ's  personal  ministry  con- 
sisted for  the  most  part  in  verbal  acknowledgment, 
together  with  such  other  acts  of  expression  as  the 
heart  might  dictate;  perhaps  kneeling  or  prostration 
in  the  attitude  of  worship,  or  sometimes  some  such 
beautiful  act  as  that  of  the  *' woman  that  was  a  sin- 
ner" who  anointed  the  Savior's  feet  with  precious 
ointment  and,  washing  them  with  her  tears,  wiped 
them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head. 

Before  inquiring  whether  the  Scriptures  represent 
the  act  of  believing  on  Jesus  at  this  time  as  includ- 
ing profession,  it  is  important  that  we  remember 
that,  as  previously  shown,  this  phrase  is  sometimes 
used  in  other  senses  than  that  we  are  now  consider- 
ing. Thayer's  Lexicon  defines  Trio-revetv  cU  as  *'to  have 
a  faith  directed  unto,  believing  or  in  faith  to  give 
oneself  up  to  Jesus."  The  first  of  these  statements 
defines  a  state^  the  second  an  act^  of  the  mind.  The 
state  may  be  one  of  self-surrendering  trust  (Mt.  xviii. 
6),  or  one  of  simple  belief  (Jn.  xii.  42);  the  act  is 
clearly  described  as  self-surrender.  It  is  clear  that 
when  believing  on  Jesus  is  applied  to  the  continued 
trust  which  succeeds  self-surrender,   it   will   not  be 


*Jesus  practiced  baptism  at  one  time  (Jn.  iii.  22;  iv.  1),  but  for 
how  long,  and  to  what  extent,  we  do  not  know. 

fThayer's  Lexicon  defines  it,  both  here  and  in  Lk.  xii.  8,  as  "to 
profess." 

300 


FAITH   DURINU   CHRIST  S   EARTHLY   MINISTRY 

represented  as  connected  with  any  particular  act  of 
profession.  The  state  of  mind  on  which  the  person 
entered  in  self-surrender  continues,  and  tjie  profes- 
sion then  made  still  shadows  the  life  and  gives  it  its 
standing  before  the  world.  The  believer  is  living  in 
faith  and  profession,  not  entering  on  either.  It  is 
also  evident  that  when  this  phrase  is  used  to  repre- 
sent a  simple  belief  (even  though  sympathetic)  of 
what  is  true,  as  in  Jn.  xii.  42,  it  cannot  include  pro- 
fession. But  faith  in  this  lower  sense  was  not  deemed 
adequate.  The  rulers  who  believed  on  Jesus,  but  did 
not  confess  him,  were  not  accepted.  Their  faith 
lacked  the  important  element  of  self-surrender. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  profession  in  order  to  being 
owned  by  Jesus.  The  lower  sense  of  faith  passed 
into  the  higher  in  profession. 

It  is  but  just  also  to  state  that,  if  believing  on  Jesus 
was  commonly  understood  to  include  profession,  it 
would  not  be  necessary  that  the  context  should  in 
every  case  show  that  it  was  so  used.  In  brief  records 
of  fact,  very  much  that  happens  is  not  reflected  in 
the  narrative,  and  a  word  which  has  come  to  be 
familiarly  used  in  a  certain  sense  is  to  be  so  under- 
stood, unless  something  in  the  context  forbids  it. 
The  question,  then,  is.  Are  there  any  cases  in  which 
the  circumstances  show  that  believing  on  Jesus  was 
used  to  include  profession?  and  are  they  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  indicate  that  this  was  a  familiar  use  of 
the  term? 

In  Ja.  ii.  23,  24  we  read:     "Now  when   he  [Jesus] 

was  in  Jerusalem   at  the  passover  during  the  feast, 

many   believed    on    his    name,   beholding   his    signs 

which  he  did.     But  Jesus  did  not  trust  himself  unto 

them,  for  he  knew  all  men,"  etc.      If  the  believing 

301 


MORAL  AND   SPIEITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

on  him  here  spoken  of  had  not  included  a  commit- 
ment to  him,  there  would  have  been  no  call  for  the 
remark  that  "Jesus  did  not  trust  himself  to  them." 
How  should  he  think  of  doing  so  if  they  had  made  no 
advances  to  him?  Prof.  Stevens,  commenting  on 
this  passage,  says:  "The  point  which  the  apostle 
emphasizes  by  the  play  on  the  word  Tna-Tevetv  may  be 
partially  brought  out  by  rendering:  They  believed 
on  him  but  he  did  not  believe  in  them,  for  he  knew 
the  real  superficiality  of  their  professed  faith."*  Be- 
lieving on  Jesus  was  therefore,  in  this  case,  an  act 
including  profession. 

In  Jn.  viii.  30,31  it  is  said:  "As  he  spake  these 
things  many  believed  on  him.  Jesus  therefore  said  to 
those  Jews  which  had  believed  him.  If  ye  abide  in  my 
word,  then  are  ye  truly  mj  disciples."  In  this  pas- 
sage, after  the  statement  is  made  that  "many  believed 
on  him,"  it  is  immediately  said  that  Jesus  addressed 
himself  to  this  company,  or  class.  In  the  act  of 
believing  on  him,  therefore,  they  had  done  something 
to  distinguish  themselves  from  the  mixed  audience 
before  him;  so  that  he  now  addresses  them  separately. 
Just  what  they  had  done  is  not  stated,  but  it  is  clearly 
implied  in  what  Christ  proceeds  to  say  to  them.  He 
tells  them  that,  if  they  abide  in  his  word,  they  will 
then  be  truly  his  disciples.  They  had,  therefore,  by 
some  act  distinguishing  them  from  the  rest  of  the 
crowd,  joined  themselves  to  him  as  his  "disciples"; 
so  that  he  now  proceeds  to  address  them  in  that 
capacity.  We  have  here,  therefore,  profession  and 
entrance  upon  discipleship,t  as  elements  in  the  mean- 

*The  Johannine  Theology ,  p.  221. 

fCremer's  Biblico-Theological  Lexicon  supports  this  interpre- 
tatipii  of  the  passage.     See  under  pisteuoo. 

302 


FAITH    DURING    ClIKIST  fS    EARTHLY    MINISTRY 

ing  of  believing  on  Jesus. 

After  Jesus  had  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  it  is 
said:  *'Many  therefore  of  the  Jews  which  came  to 
Mary  and  beheld  that  which  he  did,  believed  on  him. 
But  some  of  them  went  away  to  the  Pharisees,  and 
told  them  the  things  which  Jesus  had  done.  The 
chief  priests  therefore  and  the  Pharisees  gathered  a 
council,  and  said:  What  do  we?  for  this  man  doeth 
many  signs.  If  we  let  him  thus  alone,  all  men  will 
believe  on  him;  and  the  Romans  will  come  and  take 
away  both  our  place  and  our  nation"  (Jn.  xi.  45-48). 
Could  any  such  result  be  anticipated  from  a  secret 
faith,  which  the  Romans  could  not  know  to  exist? 
This  believing  on  Jesus  which  excited  the  alarm  of 
the  Jewish  rulers  was  nothing  short  of  a  public 
adherence  to  Jesus,  such  as  would  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Roman  government,  and,  as  it  was  feared, 
produce  serious  political  complications.  Believing  on 
Jesus  was — or  embraced — some  public  act  of  devote- 
ment  to  him;  and  it  was  the  fact  that  he  might  thus 
attract  to  himself  too  many  followers,  that  excited 
the  alarm  of  the  Jewish  rulers.  This  passage,  fur- 
thermore, bears  evidence  that  such  was  the  current 
meaning  of  the  expression  to  believe  on  Jesus,  at  that 
time,  and  that  it  was  so  understood,  not  only  by  the 
disciples  themselves,  but  by  the  people  at  large. 

Other  cases  might  be  cited,  but  it  is  not  necessary 
to  multiply  examples.  Those  already  given  are  suffi- 
cient to  show  that  believing  on  Jesus  was  understood 
to  embrace  some  act  of  profession  or  commitment  to 
him. 

It  now  remains  to  inquire  how  far  these  findings  are 
supported  by  the  highest  standard  authorities,  gram- 
matical and  lexical.     We  may  first  refer  to  the  defini- 

303 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

tion  of  Winer,  already  quoted,  but  now  reproduced 
with  a  view  to  noting  its  entire  content.  He  defines 
TTLo-TeveLv  €is  TLva  as,  "in  faith  to  resign  oneself  unto  any 
one,  to  profess  oneself  a  believer  on  one,  Jide  se  ad 
aliquem  applicare''  (to  unite,  or  join,  oneself  to  any 
one).*  Here  we  have  the  definition  of  this  phrase  in 
its  three-fold  aspect:  mentally,  a  resigning,  or  sur- 
rendeiHng  oneself  to  another;  externally,  J^ro/e5.9^o?^; 
and,  as  regards  the  relation  established,  the  joining 
oneself  to  another.  This  justifies  completely,  and  in 
every  particular,  the  conclusions  reached  by  our  own 
examination  of  the  Scripture  sources. 

Robinson's  JSfew  Testament  Greeh  Lexicon  defines 
TTtcrrevetv  with  €ts  followed  by  the  accusative  as,  "to  be- 
lieve and  rest  upon,  to  believe,  and  profess";  and  he 
defines  Tna-Tcvav  €is  TO  ovofjui  Irjaov  as,  "to  believe  on  Jesus 
and  profess  his  name."  He  defines  the  simple  Trto-Tevw, 
when  used  "absolutely,"  as  "^o  believe,  i.  e.,  to  believe 
and  profess  Christ,  to  be  or  become  a  Christian." 
Thayer's  JVeiv  T^sta7nent  Lexicon  defines  "the  faith 
by  which  a  man  embraces  Jesus"  as  "a  conviction  full 
of  joyful  trmst,  that  Jesics  is  the  Messiah — the  divinely 
appointed  author  of  eternal  salvation  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  conjoined  with  obedience  to  Christ.^ ^  Here 
we  have  obedience  as  a  constituent  part  of  this  faith. 

Cremer,  in  his  Blblico- Theological  Lexicon  of  New 
Testament  Greek,  says.*"  "Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
this  element  of  acknowledgment  (which  is  primarily 
formal  merely)  does  not  fully  come  up  to  or  exhaust 
St.  John's  conception  of  faith.     There  is,  with  the 


*Winer's  Grammar  of  N.  T.  Greeks  §31,5. 

304 


FAITH   DURING   CHRIST 's   EARTHLY   MINISTRY 

acknowledgment,  in  most   cases,*  an  acting  upon  it 

(cf.    Jn.    ix.    38,    7n<JT€vo}  Kvpti  /cat   irpocreKvvrjcrcv  avTw^    with 
Ver.  35,  <tv   Trio-TevWet?  ets   rov  vlov  rov  Btov,  VV.  36.  30,  31), 

and  this  is  adhesion  (becoming  his  disciples,  ix,  27  v. 
46,viii.31)." 

Here  we  have  the  statement  that  mere  belief,  with 
avowal,  does  not  fill  out  the  measure  of  John's  concep- 
tion of  faith,  but  that  it  includes  also  the  "acting 
upon"  this  conviction.  What  is  meant  by  "acting 
upon  it"  may  be  learned  by  consulting  the  reference 
which  is  inclosed  in  the  parenthesis,  viz.,  Jn.  ix.  38, 
compared  with  the  preceding  35th  verse.  The  case 
is  that  of  the  man  born  blind,  whom  Jesus  had  healed. 
After  his  encounter  with  the  Jews,  who  had  cast  him 
out  of  the  synagogue,  Jesus  met  him  and  said,  "Dost 
thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God?"  The  man  answer- 
ed: "And  who  is  he,  Lord,  that  I  may  believe  on 
him?"  Then  Jesus  said  to  him:  "Thou  hast  both 
seen  him,  and  he  it  is  that  speaketh  with  thee." 
Then  follows  verse  38,  to  which  Cremer  refers:  "And 
he  said.  Lord,  I  believe,  and  he  worshipped  him." 
Here  there  was,  besides  the  mental  conviction  and 
verbal  confession,  a  worshipping,  or,  more  literally, 
a  pros^ra^^o?^  before  Jesus  in  the  act  of  worship.  It 
was  an  act  of  self-surrender  and  devout  adoration. 
This,  then,  is  what  Cremer  means  by  "acting  upon 
it" — that  element  which  is  necessary  to  fill  out 
John's  conception  of  faith.  And  this  was  believing 
on  Jesus.  At  the  close  of  this  parenthesis  Cremer 
continues:  "And  this  is  adhesion''-,  and  explains 
this   in    another   parenthesis  by   saying   that   it   is   a 


*It  should  be  noted  that  Cremer  is  here  considering  all  those 
terms  and  phrases  by  which  faith  is  designated,  and  is  not  refer- 
ring to  any  one  phrase. 

20  305 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS  OF    BAPTISM 

'^becoming  His  disciples";  and  refers,  among  other 
passages,  to  Jn.  viii.  31  (see  also  v.  30).  Cremer's 
view  therefore  is,  briefly  stated,  that  faith  was  not 
only  a  belief  and  avowal  of  the  truth,  but  that  it 
included  an  acting  upon  this  belief  by  some  step  of 
commitment  to  Jesus  and  entrance  upon  his  service. 
I  may  add  that,  while  Cremer  is  here  primarily  con- 
sidering John's  conception  of  faith,  he  refers  also 
to  both  Matthew  and  Mark  in  support  of  the  same 
definition.* 

These  quotations  accord  in  a  striking  manner  with 
the  conclusions  reached  through  our  own  investiga- 
tion. Winer  and  Kobinson  distinctly  name  profession 
as  a  constituent  element  of  the  act  of  believing  on 
(ets)  Jesus.  Thayer  makes  it  include  obedience  to 
Christ;  while  Cremer  declares  that  it  includes  an 
acting  upon  one's  conviction,  and  illustrates  his  mean- 
ing by  citing  a  case  of  verbal  confession,  joined  with 


*It  is  proper  to  say  that  these  definitions  which  I  have  cited 
from  authorities,  are  not  limited  by  them  to  the  period  of  Christ's 
personal  ministry. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  that  Cremer  says  that  pisteuein  **is  used 
without  any  addition  to  denote  the  fully  persuaded,  confiding 
behavior  toward  the  God  of  Grace  and  Promise."  What  is  meant 
by  this  ''behavior"  will  appear  from  the  following  quotation 
which  is  found  under  the  head  of  pistis:  ''Comparatively  little 
is  said  of  faith  in  the  O.  T.;  man's  whole  bearing  towards  God 
and  His  revealed  will  is  usually  expressed  otherwise;  according 
to  the  economy  of  the  law,  it  is  called  a  doing  of  His  will,  walk- 
ing in  the  ways  of  his  commandments^  remembering  the  Lord 
(Kx.  iii.  15),  etc.,  and  only  as  special  graces  do  trust,  hope,  wait- 
ing upon  the  Lord,  appear.  In  the  N.  T.  on  the  other  hand  pistis 
appears  as  the  generic  name  for  this  whole  bearing." — Biblico- 
Theological  Lexicon,  the  last  quotation  from  pp.  479-80. 

Thus  it  appears,  according  to  Cremer,  that  while  faith  in  its 
beginning  is  belief  and  avowal,  conjoined  with  an  acting  tipon  it, 
it  is  in  its  continuance  in  the  Christian  life,  not  simply  a  mental 
state  or  attitude,  but  also  all  whatever  that  springs  from  such 
state  or  attitude — the  whole  behavior  or  conduct  oi  the  Christian 
life. 

306 


FAITH    DURING    CHRIST  S    EARTHLY   MINISTRY 

an  act  of  commitment  to  Jesus.  The  last  two  of 
these  authorities  choose  to  be  more  general  in  their 
statements,  but  their  definitions  embrace  the  same 
elements  as  those  of  Winer  and  Robinson.  They  all 
concur  in  the  fact  that  faith  does  not  reach  its  con- 
summation apart  from  some  act  of  obedience  or  pro- 
fession. 

Thus,  we  are  completely  supported  in  our  lexical 
findings  by  the  highest  linguistic  standards  of  our 
time;  and  our  own  contribution  to  this  subject  con- 
sists, not  in  presenting  a  new  definition  of  faith,  but 
in  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  obedience — 
the  profession — is  not  a  merely  physical  act  added  to 
an  already  completed  faith,  but  that  the  spiritual  act 
itself  does  not  reach  its  consummation  apart  from  the 
act  of  profession. 

This  was  the  view  of  faith  that  the  apostles  carried 

with  them  into  the  apostolic  age. 

307 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE. 

We  have  already  examined  at  some  length  the 
relation  of  faith  to  baptism  in  the  apostolic  age, 
but  its  consideration  has  thus  far  been  from  the 
standpoint  of  baptism.  It  remains  to  consider  the 
same  question  from  the  standpoint  of  faith.  We 
have  seen  that  the  two  great  apostles,  Paul  and 
Peter,  placed  in  baptism  a  spiritual  element  which 
the  Scriptures  describe  as  (appropriative)  faith,  and 
that  it  was  to  this  that  they  ascribed  the  saving 
efficacy  of  baptism  on  the  candidate's  part.  It  now 
remains  to  inquire  whether  that  faith  which  was 
made  the  condition  of  remission  of  sins,  or  salvation, 
was  regarded  in  the  apostolic  age  as  a  naked  spiritual 
act  taking  place  before  baptism,  or  a  spiritual-profes- 
sional act  embracing  baptism. 

But  before  proceeding  to  examine  evidence,  it  is 
necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that,  while 
during  Christ's  earthly  ministry  there  was,  so  far  as 
we  can  learn,  no  fixed  and  authorized  form  of  profes- 
sion, we  do  meet  at  the  threshold  of  the  apostolic 
age  an  act  definitely  established  and  commanded  by 
Christ  to  be  administered  among  all  nations  to  whom 
the  gospel  should  be  carried.  That  act  is  Christian 
baptism.  As,  however,  this  act  was  not  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  convert  himself,  but  by  another  person, 
and  as  it  was  to  be  administered  only  to  those  who 
were  of  a  certain  belief  and  state  of  mind,  and  as  this 
fact  could  not  be  ascertained  except  through  a  state- 
ment of  the  candidate,  verbal  confession  became  one 

308 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

of  the  approaches  of  baptism.  It  was  not  regarded, 
however,  as  an  independent  act  of  profession,  but  as 
subordinate  to  baptism,  whiuh  was  the  great  act  of 
Christian  profession.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Commission,  nor  in  the  records  of  a  large  number  of 
conversions  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  although  baptism  is 
often  spoken  of,  and  given  a  position  of  prominence. 
As  baptism  was  administered  as  soon  as  the  candidate 
was  ready  to  give  himself  up  to  Christ,  confession  was 
brought  in  close  connection  with  it,  and  seems  to 
have  been  regarded  as  a  subsidiary  part  of  profession, 
of  which  baptism  was  the  principal  act. 

Did  the  faith,  then,  that  conditions  salvation  take 
place  before  baptism,  or  embrace  baptism? 

The  evidence  on  this  subject  will  naturally  fall  into 
three  parts — (1)  evidence  from  the  Commission,  (2) 
negative  evidence  in  the  apostolic  age,  (3)  positive 
evidence  in  the  apostolic  age. 

§i.  Does  the  Commissioii  teach  that  that  Personal 
Faith  in  Christ  ivhich  obtains  Salvation  precedes 
Baptism  f 

The  commission  given  by  Christ  to  the  apostles 
before  his  ascension  belongs  to  two  periods.  In  point 
of  time  it  belongs  to  Christ's  earthly  ministry,  and 
was  spoken  before  the  inauguration  of  the  apostolic 
period  on  the  day  of  Pentecost;  in  point  of  applica- 
tion it  belongs  alone  to  this  latter  period.  It  was  not 
to  be  administered  until  the  apostles  should  receive 
the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  be  endowed  with 
power  for  the  undertaking — an  event  which  took  place 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Thenceforward  this  Com- 
mission became  their  law  of  action,  and  its  execution 
their  life  work.     It  is  the   fundamental  law  of  the 

kingdom  of  heaven;  and  if  it  has  any  bearings  on  the 

309 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

question  we  are  considering,  they  will  be  very  import- 
ant. Does  it  furnish  any  ground  for  the  belief  that 
the  faith  that  appropriates  Christ  and  his  salvation 
takes  place  before  baptism? 

In  Matthew's  version  of  the  Commission  we  have 
these  words:  '*Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples 
of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  teach- 
ing them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you"  (Mt.  xxviii.  19).  We  have  seen  that 
believing"  on  the  Lord  Jesus  had  formerly  included 
the  act  of  becoming  his  disciple;  and  this  act  was 
naturally  the  final  step  in  the  process.  If,  then,  the 
requirement  of  the  Commission  is  that  men  shall  first 
be  made  disciples  and  then  be  baptized,  will  not  faith 
reach  its  consummation  before  baptism?  There  are 
some  who  take  this  view,  claiming  that  the  *'them" 
of  this  passage  refers  not  to  "nations,"  but  to  **dis- 
ciples,"  and  that  the  meaning  therefore  is,  that  only 
such  are  to  be  baptized  as  have  already  become  dis- 
ciples. 

A  serious  objection  to  this  view  is  that  the  word 

iOvY)  (nations)   is  the  only  noun   in   the   sentence   to 

which  avTous   (them)   can    refer.    Everyone  familiar 

with  the  Greek  knows  that  the  word  "disciples"  is 

not  in  the  original;  or  rather,  that  it  is  represented 

by  no  Greek  word,  but   has  crept  into  the  translation 

through  a  free  rendering  of  the  Greek  verb  /xa^Tyrevo-are, 

which  means  literally  to  disciple.    The  American  Bible 

Union  translation  rendered  the   word  "disciple," — 

"disciple  all  nations";  and  Philip  Schalf,  no  doubt, 

expresses  the  true  reason  why  this  rendering  has  not 

been  preserved  in  the  Revised  Version,  when  he  says 

that  it  is  "perhaps  not  sufficiently  popular."     How- 

310 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

ever  this  may  be,  it  is  well  known  that  there  is  no 
noun  in  the  original  representing  the  word  ''disci- 
ples," but  only  a  verb  meaning  to  disciple.  The  a^rovs 
(them),  therefore,  refers  naturally  and  directly  to 
tOvT)  (nations);  and  the  "baptizing"  refers  to 
"nations,"  and  not  to   "disciples." 

A  supposed  difficulty  has  been  urged  against  this 
that  a^Tous  (thera)  is  in  the  masculine  gender,  while 
the  grammatical  gender  of  Wvrj  (nations)  is  neuter.  It 
is  therefore  claimed  that  avrov?  cannot  refer  to  Wvrj, 
and  that  we  are  forced  by  this  fact  to  find  a  noun 
implied  in  the  verb  fxaOrjreva-aTe,  and  that  this  noun 
will  naturally  be  imO-qra^  (disciples),  which  like  the 
avTov<i  is  masculine. 

But  this  whole  procedure  rests  on  a  misconception. 
It  is  not  true  that  a  masculine  pronoun  may  not  refer 
to  a  noun  of  a  different  gender.  See  Crosby's  Greek 
Grammar,  §495;  also  note,  and  compare  with  §446. 
Winer  says  that  pronouns  "not  unfrequently  take  a 
different  gender  from  that  of  the  nouns  to  which  they 
refer,  regard  being  had  to  the  meaning  of  the  nouns." 
He  says,  "this  happens  especially  when  an  animate 
object  is  denoted  by  a  neuter  substantive."  This  is 
the  case  in  the  passage  before  us,  and  Winer  refers 
to  it  as  an  example  under  the  rule.  Buttmann  also 
makes  the  same  statement,  and  refers  to  this  passage. 
In  Rev.  xix.  15  avTov<s  refers  directly  to  tOvrj,  as  also 
does  avToi  in  Rom.  ii.  14.*  The  construction,  there- 
fore, is  perfectly  clear  and  aurovs  refers  to  Wv-q,  and 
not  to  "disciples,"  which  is  not  in  the  passage. 

But   there    is   another   point   which   also   deserves 


*See  also  Acts  xv.  17;  xxvi.  17;  Gal.  iv.  19,  and  many  other 
passages,  where  a  masculine  pronoun  is  made  to  refer  to  a  neuter 
noun. 

311 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

notice.  If  the  meaning  were  that  the  apostles  should 
first  make  disciples  and  then  baptize  them,  we  should 
expect  to  have  fiaOrjTeva-are  changed  into  a  participle, 
and  /8a7rTt^oi/T€s  into  a  verb.  Meyer,  one  of  the  best 
Greek  scholars,  says:  **^a7rTt^ovT€s,  etc.,  by  which  the 
fjLaOrjTevcLv  is  to  be  brought  about,  not  what  is  to  take 
place  after  the  fjLaOrjTeva-are,  which  would  require 
lxa0r]Teva-avTe<s-/3a'7rTL^€Te  '  (having  disciplcd,  baptize).* 

The  meaning  of  this  language,  then,  is  clearly  that 
the  apostles  were  to  make  disciples  of  the  nations  by 
baptizing  them;  and  Mark's  version  of  the  Commis- 
sion informs  us  that  this  baptism  was  to  be  preceded 
by  preaching  of  the  gospel,  which  was  to  be  believed 
before  baptism. 

Against  this,  however,  it  has  been  urged  that  in 
Jn.  iv.  1  Jesus  is  spoken  of  as  having  made  and 
baptized  more  disciples  than  John;  and  that,  there- 
fore, it  had  been  Jesus'  practice  to  make  disciples 
before  baptizing  them;  and  it  is  held  that  his  lan- 
guage should  be  so  understood  in  this  case.  To 
this  it  may  be  replied  that  opposite  the  Greek  text 
of  this  verse  Westcott  and  Hort  have  the  words, 
"some  primitive  error  not  improbable."  But  even 
were  genuineness  of  this  passage  beyond  question,  it 
would  still  remain  that  the  Kal  (and),  which  connects 
the  two  verbs  7iiake  and  baptize,  has  a  wider  meaning 
than  the  English  word  and,  and  often  has  the  force 
of  and  even — ^Jesus  was  making  and  even  baptizing 
(as  well  as  John)  more  disciples,  etc.  This  is  the 
view  of  many  of  the  ablest  commentators,  including 


♦Translated  and  indorsed  by  Philip  Schaff,  in  Lange's  Com.y 
in  loc. — a  more  forcible  rendering  than  that  of  Mr.  Christie  in  the 
Meyer  Commentary. 

312 


FAITH  DURING   THE  APOSTOLIC   AGE 

Godet,  who  says:  *'The  term  disciples  ....  here 
denotes  the  baptized."* 

In  view  of  all  these  considerations,  it  appears  that 
the  language  of  this  passage  is  without  difficulty,  and 
that  it  declares  baptism  to  be  one  of  the  steps  in 
making  disciples,  a  purpose  it  is  eminently  fitted  to 
serve  if  it  be  all  that  the  Scriptures  declare  it  to  be. 
If  it  be  the  act  of  putting  on  Christ,  or  taking  him  as 
one's  own,  and  of  entering  into  union  with  him,  it 
must  be  by  its  very  nature  the  great  discipling  act. 

The  case  then  stands  thus:  During  Jesus'  former 
ministry  believing  on  him  included  becoming  his  dis- 
ciple; if  it  does  so  now  it  includes  baptism,  for  that  is 
part  of  the  discipling  process.  So  far,  then,  as  this 
passage  has  any  bearing  on  our  question,  it  tends  to 
the  conclusion  that  faith  is  not  consummated  before 
baptism. 

Mark's  statement  of  the  Commission  is  as  follows: 
**Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  whole  creation.  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  disbelieveth  shall  be  con- 
demned" (ch.  xvi.  15, 16). t 

Here  let  us  note  that  baptism  is  made  a  condition 
of  salvation  just  as  distinctly  as  is  faith;  and  that  it  is 
the  same  salvation  of  which  they  are  both  conditions. 
Let  us  observe,  also,  that  we  do  not  here  have  the 
phrase  believe  on,  which  naturally  refers  to  a  person. 


*Coin.,  in  loc. 

fThe  last  twelve  verses  of  this  chapter,  including  vv.  15,  16, 
are  not  found  in  the  two  oldest  Greek  manuscripts,  and  are  re- 
garded by  some  able  critics  as  not  genuine.  They,  however, 
are  not  excluded  from  the  Revised  Version,  and  their  authen- 
ticity— if  not  their  genuineness — is,  I  believe,  generally  conceded. 
As  we  nowhere  in  this  work  have  occasion  to  found  any  import- 
ant conclusion  on  this  passage,  a  critical  examination  of  the 
question  of  its  crenuineness  is  not  here  called  for, 

313 


MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

but  simply  the  word  believe.  This  word  has  a  variety 
of  meanings,  ranging  from  mere  intellectual  assent  to 
faith  in  its  highest  and  fullest  sense.  The  question  is, 
What  does  it  mean  here?  Let  us  observe,  further, 
that  the  word  is  not  here  used  absolutely  (does  not 
stand  alone,  representing  the  entire  condition  of  sal- 
vation), but  as  representing  one  of  two  conditions  of 
salvation ;  and  its  meaning  cannot  be  as  comprehen- 
sive as  if  it  stood  for  the  entire  condition.  What, 
then,  is  its  precise  content  in  this  connection?  in 
other  words,  what  does  believe  mean  when  the  act  is 
followed  by  baptism?  In  Acts  viii.  12  we  read:  *'But 
when  they  believed  Philip  preaching  good  tidings 
concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  they  were  baptized,  both  men  and 
women."  Here  we  have  belief  followed  by  baptism, 
and  are  able  to  determine  just  what  it  means.  The 
person  believed  was  Philip,  and  the  thing  believed 
was  his  preaching.  The  Samaritans  believed  what 
Philip  preached  to  be  true.  This,  then,  is  the  faith 
that  precedes  baptism.  It  is  not  personal  faith  in 
Christ,  but  a  belief  of  the  gospel  message,  which 
precedes  acceptance  of  Christ  and  surrender  to  him. 
If  it  be  held  that  the  believing  spoken  of  in  Mk. 
xvi.  16  means  more  than  that  of  this  passage,  it 
would  follow  that  the  belief  of  the  Samaritans  fell 
short  of  what  was  commanded,  and  that  Philip  com- 
mitted a  grave  blunder  in  baptizing  them.  But  there 
is  evidence  in  the  language  of  Mark  that  the  believing 
there  has  the  same  meaning.  The  command  was  to 
*'preach  the  gospel";  and  then  it  was  said  that  he 
who  believes  (it)  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.  The 
immediate  context  supplies  the  object  of  faith,  which 

is  the  same  as  that  in  Acts  viii.  12. 

314 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  faith  spoken 
of  in  either  of  these  cases  is  bare  intellectual  assent. 
Thaj^er's  definition  of  *'the  faith  by  which  a  man 
embraces  Jesus,"  already  referred  to,  is,  '*a  convic- 
tion, full  of  joyful  trust,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah — 
the  divinely  appointed  author  of  eternal  salvation  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  conjoined  with  obedience  t ) 
Christ."*  Here  that  part  of  faith  which  precedes 
obedience  is  a  matter  of  the  heart  as  well  as  of  the 
understanding;  it  is  a  joyful  and  welcome  conviction 
of  the  truth  regarding  Christ.  Hence  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  it  was  they  who  received'f  the  word  (gave  it 
welcome  belief)  that  were  baptized  (Acts  ii.  41). 
There  then  remains,  over  and  above  this  joyful  belief 
of  the  truth,  according  to  Thayer's  Lexicon,  the 
element  of  * 'obedience  to  Christ,"  as  a  constituent 
of  this  faith. 

But,  as  it  may  be  objected  that  the  wording  of  Mk. 
xvi.  16  is  not  precisely  the  same  as  that  of  Acts  viii. 
12,  it  may  be  well  to  examine  the  differences  and  see 
if  they  warrant  us  in  taking  believe  in  its  absolute 
sense  in  Mark's  statement. 

Let  us  first  say  that  when  the  word  believe  is  used 
to  represent  the  entire  condition  of  salvation  (the 
entire  spiritual  condition,  if  you  please,  for  baptisju 
is  nothing  but  a  spiritual  act  on  the  part  of  the 
candidate),  as  it  sometimes  does  (Jn.  vi.  47;  Acts 
ii.44  compared  with  v,  41;  xix.  2  compared  with  v.  3), 
it  means  more  than  when  used  to  represent  a  part  of 
that  condition,  as  in  Mk.  xvi.  16.  The  context  in 
Acts  ii.  44  and  xix.  2  shows  that  when  the  word  is 


*  Thayer's  Lexicon,  sud  voce  pisteuoo. 

tXhe  original  word  is  translated  "welcomed"  in  Lk.  viii.  40. 

315 


MORAL.   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

used  alone,  in  its  comprehensfve  sense,  it  includes 
baptism,  while  it  certainly  does  not  include  it  in  Mk. 
xvi.  16.  But  is  there  not  something  in  the  construc- 
tion of  Mark's  statement  that  requires  us  to  take 
"believeth"  in  its  widest  sense,  and  throw  baptism 
out  as  an  extraneous  act? 

It  may  be  urged  that  the  word  '*believeth"  in  this 
passage  stands  in  opposition  to  "disbelieveth,"  and 
that  the  latter  indicates  not  simply  a  lack  of  intel- 
lectual assent,  but  something  of  perverse  resistance 
to  the  truth,  and  that  the  contrast  would  imply  the 
opposite  of  this  quality  in  the  believing.  This  con- 
sideration would  have  weight  were  the  believing 
mere  intellectual  assent,  but  a  welcome  and  hearty 
receiving  of  the  word  is  the  precise  opposite  of 
perverse  resistance  to  conviction.  Indeed,  a  glad  and 
welcome  belief  of  the  truth  about  Christ  implies 
repentance,  for  the  gospel  is  anything  but  glad  news 
to  the  man  who  is  unwilling  to  forsake  his  sins.  The 
meaning  here  given  to  *'believeth,"  therefore,  satisfies 
the  antithesis  completely. 

Again,  it  may  be  said  that  the  object  of  belief 
directly  follows  the  verb  in  Acts  viii.  12,  but  that  in 
Mk.  xvi.  16  no  object  follows  the  word  '*believeth." 
But  an  object — "the  gospel" — has  just  been  mention- 
ed; and  such  previous  mention  of  the  object  of  faith 
is  not  unusual.  See  Mt.  xxiv.  23,  26;  Mk.  xiii.  21. 
In  all  these  cases  the  **it"  is  not  in  the  original.  But 
there  is  still  more  definite  evidence  that  when  believe 
is  used  to  designate  a  part  of  the  condition  of  salva- 
tion, it  has  a  limited  meaning,  even  though  not  direct- 
ly followed  by  an  object.  In  Acts  xi.-20,  21  we  read: 
*'But  there  were  some  of  them,  men  of  Cyprus  and 

Cyrene,  who,  when  they  were  come  to  Antioch,  spake 

316 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC  AGE 

unto  the  Greeks  also,  preaching  the  Lord  Jesus. 
And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them:  and  a 
great  number  that  believed  turned  to  the  Lord." 
Here  the  word  "believed"  is  not  followed  by  any 
object,  the  object  being  implied  in  v.  20,  and  is  used, 
as  in  Mk.  xvi.  16,  to  designate  one  of  the  conditions 
of  salvation;  but  can  it  be  said  that  he  who  has  not 
yet  turned  to  the  Lord  has  believed  in  the  broadest 
sense  of  that  term?  To  believe  in  its  absolute  sense 
is  to  come  into  possession  of  "eternal  life"  (Jn.  vi. 
47).  Do  men  possess  "eternal  life"  before  they  turn* 
to  the  Lord?  To  believe  on  Christ  is  to  obey  him 
(Jn.  iii.  36).  Have  those  obeyed  him  who  have  not 
turned  to  the  Lord?  To  come  to  Christ  and  to  turn  to 
him  are  but  different  descriptions  of  the  same  act; 
but  to  come  to  Christ  is  to  believe  on  him  (Jn.  vi.  35). 
Is  it  not  clear  that  the  word  believe^  when  standing 
alone  and  expressing  comprehensively  the  entire  con- 
dition of  salvation,  includes  turning  to  the  Lord? 
and  is  it  not  also  true  that,  when  it  stands  for  but 
one  of  the  conditions  of  salvation,  even  though  it  be 
not  directly  followed  by  an  object,  it  has  a  less  com- 
prehensive meaning?  It  seems  to  me  that  Scripture 
usage  not  only  permits,  but  requires,  that  we  take  the 
word  believeth  in  Mk.  xvi.  16  in  a  limited  sense.  The 
man  who  believes,  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term. 


*Thayer's  Lexicon  defines  epistrephos,  translated  **turn"  in  this 
passage  (Actsxi.  Zl),  as  "to  turn,  to  turn  oneself  ...  of  Gen- 
tiles passing  over  to  the  religion  of  Christ."  Persons  certainly 
cannot  be  said  to  have  eternal  life,  or  to  be  saved  by  Christ  in 
any  way,  before  passing  over  to  his  religion.  Again,  this  Z^'ji-- 
zVc«  defines  to  believe  on  {pisteuein  eis)  Christ  as,  "believing  or 
in  faith  to  give  oneself  up  to"  Christ.  Can  any  one  give  himself 
up  to  Chuist  without  passing  over  to  his  religion?  Believing-  on 
Christ,  therefore,  embraces  this  turning;  but  the  word  "believed," 
in  this  passage,  does  not  embrace  it,  and  is  therefore  used  in  a 
limited  sense. 

317 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

is  already  saved  (has  "eternal  life,"  Jn.  vi.  47 — has 
"passed  out  of  death  into  life,"  v.  24),  but  he  who 
believes,  in  Mk.  xvi.  16,  is  not  saved  until  he  is  bap- 
tized. 

So  far  regarding  interpretation.  There  now  re- 
mains one  further  consideration.  If  baptism  is  the 
final  condition  of  salvation,  as  stated  in  this. passage, 
the  spiritual  act  of  appropriating  Christ's  salvation 
will  take  place  in  baptism,  and  noivhere  else.  Men  do 
not  greet  each  other,  even  mentally,  before  they  meet; 
they  do  not  receive  a  gift,  even  mentally,  before  it  is 
offered,  and  if  salvation  is  not  offered  before  baptism, 
the  mental  act  of  appropriating  it  will  not  take  place 
before  that  time.  If  baptism  be  the  final  condition  of 
salvation,  the  idea  that  men  shall  put  on  Christ,  or 
take  him  as  their  own,  that  they  shall  enter  into  union 
with  him,  or  that  they  shall  seek  for  a  good  con- 
science, before  baptism,  is  a  psychological  absurdity. 
It  is  no  longer  a  question  whether  the  Scriptures  teach 
that  these  spiritual  acts  take  place  before  baptism. 
They  cannot  possibly  do  so.  With  one  single  stroke 
the  making  of  baptism  the  final  condition  of  salva- 
tion puts  all  these  spiritual  acts  i7ito  it;  and  if  Paul 
and  Peter  had  not  placed  appropriative  faith  in 
baptism,  they  would  have  committed  a  grave  psycho- 
logical blunder.  Any  interpretation,  too,  that  makes 
the  word  "believeth,"  in  this  passage,  include  appro- 
priative faith,  simply  makes  the  passage  commit 
suicide.  In  Christ's  earthly  ministry,  faith  meant, 
according  to  Cremer's  Lexicon,  not  only  belief,  but 
also  an  "acting  upon  it."     It  means  that  still. 

Luke's  statement  of  the  Commission  has  no  bear- 
ing on  our  question;  and  we  may  conclude  by  saying 

that  the  commission,  which  is  to  dominate  the  apos- 

318 


FAITH  DURING  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tolic  age,  does  not  place  the  faith  that  conditions 
salvation  before  baptism,  but,  on  the  contrary,  gives 
evidence  that  it  includes  baptism. 

§^.  In  the  Apostolic  Age,  the  Personal  Faith  in 
Christ  which  obtains  Salvation  does  not  precede 
Baptism. 

Of  the  twenty-seven  books  of  the  New  Testament, 
twenty-three  relate  to  the  apostolic  age.  In  them, 
especially  in  the  Acts,  which  may  be  called  the  book 
of  conversions,  baptism  is  often  mentioned,  and 
faith  almost  continually.  What  do  we  find,  then,  in 
these  twenty-three  books  regarding  the  relation  of 
that  spiritual  act  called  believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  to  baptism?  Does  this  personal  faith  precede 
baptism?  We  may  now  affirm  that  nowhere  in  any  of 
these  boohs,  under  any  designation  ivhatever,  is  the 
personal  faith  in  Christ  luhich  conditions  salvation, 
made  to  precede  baptism.  The  apostles  nowhere  com- 
manded it  as  an  antecedent  to  baptism,  they  nowhere 
required  a  confession  of  it  as  a  condition  of  baptism, 
and  the  records  of  conversion  under  their  ministry 
do  not  show  that  it  did  take  place  before  baptism. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  observe  that  none  of  those 
specific  designations  by  which  this  faith  was  repre- 
sented in  the  time  of  Christ's  earthly,  ministry  is  ever 
made  to  precede  baptism.  Nowhere  are  men  said  to 
come  to  Christ,  to  receive  him,  to  obey  him,  or  to  be- 
come his  disciples,  and  then  receive  baptism.  Nor  are 
men  ever  said  to  die  to  sin,  to  enter  into  Christ,  or  to 
put  him  on,  and  then  receive  baptism. 

The  most  common  designation  of  this  faith  was,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  phrase  Tnar^vuv  ek  nm  (to  believe  on 
one)  as  applied  to  Jesus.  This  phrase  occurs  repeat- 
edly both  in  the  Acts  and  in  the  epistles,  but  nowhere 

319 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

is  any  one  ever  instructed  to  believe  on  (eis)  Christ 
and  be  baptized,  nor  is  there  any  case  where  such  a 
thing  is  said  to  have  been  done. 

While  this  statement  is  strictly  true,  there  is  one 
passage  which  may  seem  to  imply  an  exception  to  it, 
but  which,  by  wise  translation,  in  both  the  Authorized 
and  Revised  Versions,  is  hidden  from  the  English 
reader.  The  passage  is  found  in  Rom.  x.  14,  and 
reads  in  the  R.  V. :  "How  then  shall  they  call  on  him 
in  whom  they  have  not  believed?  and  how  shall  they 
believe  in  him  whom  they  have  not  heard?  and  how 
shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher?"  In  the  phrase 
'*in  whom  they  have  not  believed,"  the  word  rendered 
*'in"  is  ets,  usually  rendered  on.  Of  what,  now,  is 
this  believing  on  the  Lord  said  to  be  the  antecedent? 

We  are  probably  to  understand  this  calling  on  the 

name  of  the  Lord  as  referring  to   baptism.      Peter 

quotes  this  same  passage  in  his  sermon  on  the  day  of 

Pentecost,  applying  it  to  the  gospel  age,  and   then, 

when  he  comes  to   tell   inquirers   what  to  do  to   be 

saved,  commands  them  to   repent  and   be   baptized 

that  they  may  receive  the  remission  of  sins  and  the 

gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.   We  know  also  that  he  looked 

upon  baptism  as  a  prayer  (1  Pet  iii.  21).     Paul  also 

was  commanded  to  be  baptized  and  wash  away  his  sins 

"calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord"  (Acts  xxii.  16). 

The  verb  is  middle  in  all  these  cases,  having  the  sense 

of  calling  on  the  Lord  in  one's  behalf;  and  doubtless 

refers  to  the  same  thing.     But  our  passage   implies 

that  one  cannot  so  call  on  the  Lord  until  he  believes 

on  (eis)  him.     Unless  there  are  indications  that  the 

phrase  is  here  used  in  a  lower  sense  than  that  of  the 

self-surrendering,  appropriative  faith  that  puts  us  in 

320 


FAITH   DURING  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

possessioQ  of  salvation,  the   passage  would  seem  to 
place  this  faith  before  baptism. 

The  first  thing  that  arrests  our  attention  in  reading 
the  passage  in  both  versions  is  that  the  phrase  Tna-Tcvetv 
eis  is  not  translated  bdieve  on,  but  believe  in — a  phrase 
which  means  a  simple  belief  of  the  truth,  or  at  most 
trust,  without  the  idea  of  self-surrender.  In  every 
case  where  the  Greek  phrase  represents  faith  in  its 
higher  sense  of  self-surrender  and  appropriation,  the 
Revised  Version  translates  it  believe  on.  Indeed,  it  so 
translates  it  in  every  case  but  two,  the  other  passage 
being  Jn.  xiv.  1,  where  it  evidently  does  not  include 
self-surrender  and  entrance  upon  discipleship,  since 
the  disciples  had  done  this  long  before.  The  only 
suitable  meaning  in  this  place  is  trust.  Why  make 
an  exception  here,  if  the  phrase  has  the  usual  sense 
of  believe  on?  Let  it  be  noted  also  that  the  English 
and  American  committees  both  concurred  in  this  ex- 
ceptional rendering.  Did  they  not,  then,  regard  the 
phrase  as  having  an  exceptional  sense  in  this  passage? 
But  this  is  not  the  only  indication  that  they  regarded 
as  as  possessing  a  lower  sense  in  this  passage  than 
usual.  Referring  to  this  faith  in  v.  17,  the  A.  V.  had 
read:  *'So  then  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  word  of  God."  This  the  R.  V.  has  changed 
to:  *'So  belief  cometh  of  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  Christ,"  replacing  the  word  **faith"  by  "be- 
lief." As  belief  as  distinguished  from  faifh  relates  to 
the  assent  of  the  understanding,  we  see  that  the 
revisers  regarded  the  faith  here  spoken  of  as  a  belief 
of  the  truth;  and  the  other  change  points  to  the 
same  conclusion.  They  manage  to  get  rid  of  both 
believe  on  and  faith,  and  rephice  both  by  terms  that 

point  to  intellectual  conviction.     Evidently  they  un- 
21  321 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

derstand  this  to  be  the  faith  spoken  of  in  this  place. 

If  we  examine  the  passage  ourselves,  we  shall  find 
ample  grounds  for  this  conclusion.  Paul  says:  **How 
shall  [literally,  how  can*]  they  call  on  him  on  whom 
they  have  not  believed?"  Now,  it  is  evident  that  no 
one  can  call  on  one  whom  he  has  never  heard  of,  or, 
what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  the  report  concern- 
ing whom  he  does  not  believe;  but  it  is  not  true  that 
having  received  what  he  regards  as  reliable  informa- 
tion concerning  Christ,  he  cannot  call  on  him  if  he 
will.  The  passage  is  true  only  of  intellectual  convic- 
tion, and  untrue  of  any  higher  sense  of  faith.  Again, 
if  we  attempt  to  read  the  higher  sense  of  faith  into 
this  passage,  we  shall  encounter  other  difficulties.  If 
we  suppose  it  to  refer  to  that  faith  which  puts  us  in 
possession  of  eternal  life  (Jn.  iii.  36;  vi.47),  which 
consists  in  a  believing  into  Christ,  and  which  includes 
death  to  sin  and  consequent  justification  (Rom.  vi.  7), 
we  shall  have  the  believer  already  in  possession  of 
salvation,  in  which  case  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  "call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord"  that  he  might 
be  saved.  If  calling  on  the  name  of  tho  Lord  is  a 
condition  of  salvation,  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  any 
faith  which  precedes  that  act  cannot  be  the  faith  that 
puts  us  in  possession  of  salvation. 

The  fact,  therefore,  that  Paul  is  using  the  phrase 
TTto-revW  €is  in  a  lower  sense  in  this  passage  is  not  at  all 
doubtful;  and  we  have  here  no  exception  to  the  state- 
ment that  believing  on^  or  into^  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  never  made  to  precede  baptism. 

Another  passage  which  may  be  thought  to  indicate 
that  justifying  faith    precedes   baptism   is   the   10th 


*It  is  the  aorist  subjunctive,  how  shall  they  be  able? 

322 


FAITH  DURING  THE   ArOSTOLIC  AGE 

verse  of  this  same  chapter:  "For  with  the  heart  man 
believeth  unto  righteousness;  and  with  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  unto  salvation"  (Rom.  x.  10).  If 
we  take  '^righteousness"  in  the  sense  of  justification 
and  suppose  confession  to  represent  profession,*  shall 
we  not  have  both  faith  and  justification  clearly  placed 
before  baptism?  If  the  order  be,  first,  faith  and 
justification,  and  then  profession  and  salvation,  such 
would,  no  doubt,  be  the  case,  but  Winer  declares  the 
passage  to  be  a  case  of  parallelism, t  and  Prof .  Sanday 
says  that  this  verse  "takes  the  form  of  Hebrew  paral- 
lelism in  which  the  balanced  clauses  are  regarded  as 
equivalent  to  each  other. "|  If  this  is  correct,  the 
two  clauses,  instead  of  being  statements  of  consecu- 
tive events,  really  traverse  the  same  ground,  and  are 
only  somewhat  different  representations  of  the  same 
transaction.  Meyer  renders  the  poetic  couplet  into 
prose  thus:  "With  the  faith  of  the  heart  is  united 
the  confession-  of  the  mouth  to  the  result  that  one 
obtains  righteousness  and  salvation. "§  If  this  be  the 
true  rendering,  and  it  can  hardly  fail  to  be,  as  it 
simply  drops  the  parallelism,  the  passage  no  longer 


*Tlie  reason  why  Paul  n^imes  confession  here  instead  of  baptism 
is  evidently  that  he  may  state  the  gospel  steps  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble in  terms  of  the  Old  Testament  passage  from  which  he  is 
arguing  (see  v.  8).  He  pursues  a  similar  course  when  arguing 
from  Abraham's  faith  to  Christian  faith  in  Rom.  iv.  Although 
elsewhere  speaking  of  it  as  faith  in  Christ,  he  speaks  of  it  each 
time  in  this  chapter  as  a  believing  on  God,  that  he  may  bring  it 
into  closer  correspondence  with  Abraham's  faith,  which  was  a 
faith  in  God.  vSuch  things  are  purely  argumentative  accommo- 
dations, and  affect  in  no  way  either  the  importance  of  faith  in 
Christ,  or  the  prominence  of  baptism  as  the  principal  act  of 
profession. 

^Grammar,  N.  T.  Greek,  §68,  3. 

jSanday  on  Romans,  in  The  Nezv  Testament  Com.  for  English 
Readers,  p.  245. 

%Com.^  in  too. 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

presents  any  difficulty  to  the  view  we  are  considering. 
In  what  way  the  faith  is  united  to  the  profession  is 
not  stated.  So  far  as  this  statement  is  concerned  it 
may  as  easily  reach  its  consummation  in  profession  as 
wholly  precede  it.  It  undoubtedly  includes  intellect- 
ual conviction  (see  v.  9),  and  all  else  that  faith  must 
contain  in  order  to  justification,  including  the  spiritual 
act  of  appropriation,  w^hich  takes  place  in  baptism. 

There  is,  then,  nothing  in  this  passage  to  show  that 
the  faith  that  appropriates  salvation  precedes  bap- 
tism. Apart  from  the  two  passages  examined  I  know 
of  none  whose  statements  would  seem  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  position  we  are  considering. 

There  is,  however,  one  recorded  case  of  conversion 
in  which,  while  there  is  no  statement  to  that  effect 
the  circumstances  might  seem  to  imply  that  this 
appropriative  faith  really  did  reach  its  consummation 
before  baptism.  In  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  and 
his  friends  (Acts  x.)  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  form  of 
a  miraculous  endowment,  was  bestowed  upon  them 
before  their  baptism.  Would  not  this  distinguished 
mark  of  favor  cause  them  to  lay  hold  on  Christ's 
salvation  at  that  time,  enter  into  union  with  him,  and 
rest  in  him  as  saved?  This  would  depend  on  how  they 
interpreted  this  manifestation.  But  whatever  view 
we  may  take  of  this,  it  will  in  no  way  alffect  our  posi- 
tion, from  the  fact  that  if  these  Gentiles  did  believe 
on  Christ  at  that  time  in  the  fullest  sense,  it  was 
occasioned  by  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  out 
of  its  usual  order.  This  is  the  only  case  in  the  entire 
apostolic  history  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  was  bestow- 
ed before  baptism.  Its  order  is  clearly  fixed  in  Acts 
ii,  38  as  sequent  to  baptism,  and  to  this  the  entire 

teaching  and  practice  of  the  apostles  conform.     The 

324 


FAITH  DURING  THE   APOSTOLIC  AGE 

exception  in  this  case  was  a  miracle,  wrought  by  God, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  a  very  important  end. 
Years  had  passed  since  the  giving  of  the  Commission, 
yet  the  gospel  had  not  been  carried  to  any  Gentile 
people.  A  divine  interposition  was  necessary  to  open 
the  understanding  of  the  primitive  church  to  this 
feature  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Two  miracles — the 
appearance  of  the  angel  to  Cornelius,  and  the  sheet 
let  down  from  heaven  to  Peter — served  to  bring  Peter 
and  Cornelius  together,  and  Peter  preached  the  gos- 
pel to  him.  Whether  Peter  would  have  admitted  him 
to  baptism  without  his  becoming  a  proselyte  to  Juda- 
ism, we  do  not  know,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  six 
brethren  with  him,  who  had  seen  no  miracle,  would 
not  have  been  satisfied,  nor  would  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  (Acts  xi.  1-18);  and  without  some  further 
miraculous  interposition  a  rupture  of  the  church  was 
almost  sure  to  follow  such  a  step.  No  miracle  could 
have  been  so  fitted  to  remove  this  difficulty  as  the 
conferring  of  this  distinguishing  gift  of  the  Christian 
dispensation  upon  these  people;  *nd  it  needed  to  be 
conferred  before  baptism  to  prevent  the  objection  of 
the  brethren  who  were  with  Peter  at  that  very  point. 
That  they  were  prepared  to  object  may  be  inferred 
from  Acts  x.  47.  No  such  demand  ever  again  occurred 
for  the  breaking  of  the  established  order,  and  we  have 
no  record  of  any  other  deviation  from  it. 

If,  then,  this  exceptional  bestowment  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  out  of  its  established  order  chanced  for  once  to 
tate  faith  out  of  its  natural  connection  and  evacuate 
baptism,  it  will  have  no  bearing  on  our  position, 
which  deals  with  the  divinely  appointed  order^  and 
not  with  exceptions. 

It   is   by   no   means   certain,    however,    that   these 

325 


MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

Gentiles  did  understand  this  miraculous  bestowment 
of  the  Spirit  as  an  admission  into  Christ's  kingdom. 
The  appearance  of  the  angel  to  Cornelius  and  the 
language  of  approval  on  that  occasion  were  a  high 
mark  of  favor;  yet  they  did  not  indicate  that  he  was 
saved  (Acts  xi.  14),  but  rather  that  the  way  of  salva- 
tion was  to  be  opened  to  him.  The  miracle  on  this 
occasion  may  not  have  fulfilled  more  than  its  manifest 
purpose — the  convincing  of  all  parties  that  the  Gen- 
tiles were  to  be  admitted  to  the  Christian  salvation-^ 
and  Peter  proceeds,  not  to  dispense  with,  but  to  com- 
mand, that  act  (baptism)  with  which  he  had  been 
wont  to  connect  the  remission  of  sins  (Acts  ii.  38). 
If  it  be  thought  that  the  moral  state  of  these  persons 
furnishes  a  suifficient  evidence  that  they  were  then 
saved,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  moral  state  of  Corne- 
lius before  Peter  visited  him?  Faith  in  Christ  and 
loyalty  to  him  are  not  morally  different  states  from 
faith  in  God  and  loyalty  to  him;  yet  Cornelius, 
though  possessing  these,  was  not  yet  saved.  It  is  im- 
portant to  remenlber  that  salvation,  or  remission  of 
sins,  does  not  depend  on  moral  conditions  alone. 
Still  it  is  not  necessary  to  our  purpose  to  claim  that 
the  faith  of  these  Gentiles  did  not  reach  its  consum- 
mation before  their  baptism.  If  this  exceptional 
bestowment  of  the  spirit  out  of  its  usual  order  caused 
any  displacement  of  faith,  it  can  have  only  the  force 
of  an  exception  never  to  be  repeated. 

I  know  of  no  other  passages  that  need  examining 
in  this  connection,  and  we  may  pass  to  another  con- 
sideration. 

Another  reason  for  thinking  that  the  faith  to  which 

salvation  is  granted  does  not  precede  baptism,  besides 

the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  do  not  i)lace  it  there,  is  to 

326 


FAITH  DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

be  found  in  apostolic  practice.  Doctrine  usually  mod- 
ifies practice.  When  it  relates  to  the  steps  of  conver- 
sion it  always  does  so.  Nothing  is  more  manifest  in 
the  history  of  the  church  than  that  certain  doctrines 
arise  and  shape  to  themselves  a  certain  practice,  and 
then  disappear,  leaving  the  practice  to  fall  into  deca- 
dence, be  justified  for  a  time  on  other  grounds,  and  at 
last  cease.  Now,  the  view  that  appropriative  faith, 
the  appropriative  spiritual  act,  takes  place  before 
baptism,  and  the  view  that  it  takes  place  in  baptism, 
each  has  a  controlling  influence  on  practice.  If  the 
view^  be  that  this  spiritual  act  takes  place  before 
baptism,   we  shall  have  the  following  effects: 

In  the  first  place,  the  salvation  to  be  appropriated 
will  itself  be  placed  before  baptism,  or  it  could  not 
be  appropriated  there.  The  putting  on  of  Christ, 
entrance  into  union  with  him,  remission  of  sins,  and 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  all  precede  baptism. 
The  first  effect  of  this  on  practice  will  be,  that  all 
expressions  referring  to  baptism  as  a  saving  act  and 
as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins  will  disappear 
from  Christian  phraseology.  Then,  as  it  is  part  of 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  shed  abroad  the  sense 
of  the  divine  love  in  the  heart  (Rom.  v.  5)  and  grant 
the  spirit  of  sonship,  by  which  we  cry  Abba,  Father, 
thus  giving  us  evidence  of  the  divine  acceptance,  it 
will  follow  that  this  evidence  will  be  looked  for  be- 
fore baptism,  and  the  church  will  not  feel  authorized 
to  admit  to  baptism  any  whom  God  has  not  so 
accepted.  It  must  be  ascertained,  therefore,  whether 
the  candidate  has  the  evidence  of  divine  acceptance, 
and  this  will  introduce  a  new  practice — the  relation 
of  an  experience.     But,  in  case  the  person  who   has 

repented   of   his   sins  and  sought  the   Lord  fails   to 

327 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

receive  this  evidence  of  divine  acceptance,  inasmuch 
as  he  is  not  yet  fit  for  baptism,  there  will  be  but  one 
thing  he  can  do — wrestle  with  God  in  prayer  for  the 
blessing;  and  if  this  fails,  call  on  others  to  pray  for 
him;  and  this  will  have  to  be  continued  until  he  finds 
peace  or  despairs  of  getting  it.  This  will  form  the 
third  step  in  practice  originating  in  this  view.  A 
fourth  modification  of  practice  will  be  this:  Inas- 
much as  those  who  receive  the  blessing  will  have 
received  all  the  salvation  there  is  for  them  this  side 
of  heaven,  they  will  be  in  no  haste  about  being  bap- 
tized, and  will  defer  it  to  their  convenience.  They 
will  also  speak  of  it  as  a  non-essential  and  as  a  mere 
outward  act,  and  will  be  likely  to  make  of  it  a  kind  of 
commemorative  rite  looking  back  to  their  conversion. 
This  will  all  naturally  flow  from  the  doctrine  that  the 
spiritual  act  of  appropriating  Christ  and  his  salvation 
precedes  baptism,  and  unless  modified  by  some  dis- 
turbing influence,  will  follow  that  belief  with  abso- 
lute certainty.  It  has  done  precisely  this  in  modern 
times,  and  only  recently  the  anxious  bench  has  been 
discarded  by  the  more  intelligent,  because  of  a  loss  of 
confidence  in  its  practical  workings.  Now,  not  one 
of  these  steps  of  practice  existed  in  the  apostolic  age. 
Had  this  doctrine  obtained  then,  would  it  not  have 
shaped  to  itself  this  practice  then  as  well  as  now? 
Will  not  the  same  cause  produce  the  same  effect  in 
one  age  as  well  as  in  another? 

Let  us  now  reverse  the  picture.  If  the  spiritual  act 
of  appropriating  Christ  and  his  salvation  is  regarded 
as  taking  place  in  baptism,  the  salvation  will  be 
placed  there  also.  Putting  on  Christ,  union  with 
Christ,  remission  of  sins,  and  the  reception    of   the 

Holy  Spirit  will  all  belong  to  baptism.     Baptism  will 

328 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

then  naturally  be  spoken  of  as  a  saving  act,  and  as  a 
condition  of  the  remission  of  sins  and  of  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Then  the  evidence  of  sonship  im- 
parted by  the  Holy  Spirit  will  be  sought  through 
obedience  in  baptism;  and,  instead  of  telling  an  ex- 
perience, the  candidate  on  applying  for  baptism  will 
simply  confess  his  belief  in  the  divinity  and  Messiah- 
ship  of  Jesus.  There  will  also  be  no  anxious  bench, 
but  if  the  baptized  convert  does  not  enjoy  the  spir- 
itual assurance  that  he  desires  he  will  seek  it  in 
greater  faithfulness  and  prayer  for  God's  blessing. 
Then,  as  appropriative  faith  takes  place  in  baptism, 
and  the  salvation  to  be  appropriated  is  there  also, 
the  convert  will  desire  baptism  as  soon  as  he  is  ready 
to  give  himself  up  to  Christ,  and  baptism  will  be 
spoken  of  as  a  spiritual  act  and  an  important  step  in 
conversion.  This  will  always  be  the  result  of  placing 
appropriative  faith  in  baptism,  and  this  was  precisely 
the  practice  of  the  apostolic  age.  The  practice  result- 
ing from  these  two  doctrines  is  very  different;  but  it 
is  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  appropriation  that  gives 
the  apostolic  practice,  while  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
baptismal  appropriation  draws  away  from  that  prac- 
tice. The  apostolic  phraseology  and  practice  will 
never  return  while  this  doctrine  holds  sway. 

^3.  The  Personal  Faith  in  Christ  that  obtains 
Salvation  embi'aces  Baptism, 

Having  considered  this  question  negatively,  I  now 
proceed  to  give  some  positive  evidence  that  the  faith 
that  obtains  salvation,  or  remission  of  sins,  was  re- 
garded in  the  apostolic  age  as  embracing  baptism. 
The  first  recorded  account  of  the  use  of  the  expression 
to  believe  on  (ets)  Christ  in  the  apostolic  age  is  found 

in  Acts  X.  43.     Peter  says  to  Cornelius  and  his  com- 

329 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

pany;  *'To  him  [Jesus]  bear  all  the  prophets  witness, 
that  through  his  name  every  one  that  believeth  on 
(ets)  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins."  The  lan- 
guage of  this  passage  is  ambiguous;  and  it  is  uncer- 
tain whether  the  sense  is  that  those  who  believe  on 
Christ  shall  obtain  remission  of  sins  by  being  baptized 
in  his  name  (v.  48),  or  whether  the  phrase  * 'through 
his  name"  simply  refers  to  the  fact  that  God  grants 
remission  of  sins  by  virtue  of  his  mediatorial  work.  I 
see  no  reason  why  we  should  not  take  the  sense  as 
given  by  Dr.  Lechler  in  Lange's  Commentary,  **Every 
one  receives  the  remission  of  sins  through  Jesus 
Christ,  who  believes  in  [on]  him."*  This  would 
make  believing  on  (ets)  Christ  the  only  condition  of 
remission.  What,  then,  does  this  phrase  mean  in 
the  apostolic  age?  We  shall  have  a  positive  answer, 
if  Peter  anywhere  else  states  the  condition  of  remis- 
sion of  sins  in  more  particular  and  definite  terms.  He 
does  this  in  Actsii.  38,  when  he  commands  those  who 
had  already  come  to  believe  in  the  Lordship  and 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  to  repent  and  be  baptized  for 
the  remission  of  their  sins.  If  believing  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  embraces  the  entire  condition  of  remis- 
sion, it  is  certain  that,  according  to  Peter,  it  includes 
baptism. t  If  it  be  asked  whether  we  may  not  take 
believing  on  Christ  in  Acts  x.  43  as  a  naked  spiritual 
act,  and  then  construe  Acts  ii.  38  in  harmony  with 
that  conception,  the  answer  is  three-fold:  (1)  it  is  a 
law  of  interpretation  that  we  shall  make  passages 
which  are  more  particular  and  full  in  their  statement 


*Com.,  in  loc. 

tThe  efforts  to  show  that  the  language  in  Acts  ii.  38  does  not 
make  baptism  a  condition  of  remission  will  be  shown  to  be  un- 
successful in  another  place. 

330 


FAITH  DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

explain  those  which  are  more  general  and  indefi- 
nite; (2)  we  cannot  so  explain  Acts  ii.  38  without 
violence  to  the  language ;  and  (3)  we  are  not  author- 
ized to  assume  such  a  meaning  of  the  phrase  to  believe 
on  in  Acts  x.  43.  This  phrase — or  its  equivalent  in 
the  language  spoken  by  Jesus — was  currently  used  in 
the  time  of  Christ's  earthly  ministry  to  include  the 
entire  process  of  becoming  his  disciple,  including 
profession;  and  the  very  question  at  issue  is  whether 
it  continues  to  have  that  meaning,  with  the  presump- 
tion that  it  does.  To  give  it  the  sense  supposed,  and 
then  to  force  that  sense  on  Acts  ii.  38,  would  be  arbi- 
trary in  the  extreme.  If  believing  on  Christ  is  used 
in  an  absolute  sense  in  Acts  x.  43 — that  is,  if  it  stands 
alone,  without  any  supplementary  condition,  as  the 
means  of  obtaining  the  remission  of  sins — it  embraces 
baptism. 

Let  us  now  pass  to  a  statement  by  another  apostle. 
It  is  found,  with  its  connection,  in  Acts  xix.  1-7: 

*'And  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  Apollos  was  at 
Corinth,  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper 
country  came  to  Ephesus,  and  found  certain  disci- 
ples: and  he  said  unto  them,  Did  ye  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  when  ye  believed?  And  they  said  unto  him, 
Nay,  we  did  not  so  much  as  hear  whether  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  given.  And  he  said.  Into  what  then  were 
ye  baptised?  And  they  said,  Into  John's  baptism. 
And  Paul  said,  John  baptized  with  the  baptism  of 
repentance,  saying  unto  the  people,  that  they  should 
believe  on  him  which  should  come  after  him,  that  is, 
on  Jesus.  And  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  bap- 
tized into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  when 
Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon  them,  the  Holy  Spirit 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

came  on  them;  and  they  spake  with  tongues  and 
prophesied.  And  they  were  in  all  about  twelve  men." 

Preparatory  to  an  understanding  of  this  passage, 
let  us  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  status  of  these  men. 
In  the  first  place,  they  were  not  members  of  the 
church  at  Ephesus;  for  they  needed  to  receive  Chris- 
tian baptism,  and  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  had  been 
in  daily  association  with  Paul  for  a  year  and  a  half 
and  had  been  competent  to  deal  with  the  case  of 
Apollos,  certainly  understood  Paul's  way  of  dealing 
with  such  cases,  and  would  not  have  permitted  them 
to  be  admitted  improperly.  Further,  they  had  very 
little  acquaintance  with  the  church  at  Ephesus,  and 
may  not  previously  have  attended  any  of  its  services ; 
for  they  certainly  could  not  have  done  so  long  with- 
out learning  about  so  important  a  matter  as  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  On  the  other  hand,  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  leading  facts  regarding  the  life 
of  Jesus  and  believed  him  to  be  the  Messiah;  for  Paul 
did  not  find  it  necessary  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them. 
In  this  they  were  like  Apollos,  who  had  just  been 
preaching  at  Ephesus,  and  who  knew  *'only  the  bap- 
tism of  John,"  but  taught  correctly  *'the  things  con- 
cerning Jesus."  As  it  is  not  unlikely  that  these  men 
had  gained  their  knowledge  concerning  Jesus  from 
listening  to  the  preaching  of  Apollos,  let  us  inquire 
what  Apollos  knew. 

He  knew  **the  things  concerning  Jesus,"  but  his 
knowledge  was  not  complete;  for  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
needed  to  give  him  further  instruction.  He  probably 
knew  the  leading  facts  concerning  the  life  of  Jesus, 
was  aware  of  his  claims  to  be  the  Messiah  and  be- 
lieved them  to  be  true;   but  he  was  not  acquainted 

with  the  Great  Commission  given  to  the  apostles  just 

332 


FAITH  DURING  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

before  his  ascension,  or  he  would  have  preached  and 
practiced  Christian  baptism  like  any  other  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  and  it  would  not  have  been  true  that 
he  knew  *'only  the  baptism  of  John."  He  knew  the 
great  facts  concerning  Jesus  and  believed  him  to  be 
the  Messiah,  but  he  did  not  know — what  the  Commis- 
sion contained — that,  having  received  "all  authority 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  he  demanded  the  surrender 
of  every  soul  to  him,  and  an  entrance  into  spiritual 
union  with  him.  He  knew  what  tTesus  ivas,  but  he 
did  not  know  what  the  enthroned  Christ  wanted  of 
men. 

Now,  the  twelve  men,  who  had  probably  heard 
ApoUos,  seem  to  have  stood  in  just  that  position. 
They  knew  the  facts  about  Jesus  and  believed  in 
his  Messiahship,  and  in  this  sense — the  only  sense 
which  they  knew  to  be  required — claimed  to  be  his 
disciples;  but  they  did  not  know  what  this  Messiah 
wanted  of  them.  They  did  not  know  that,  as  the 
enthroned  representative  of  Deity,  he  demanded 
complete  submission  to  him,  full  commitment  to 
him,  and  entrance  into  an  intimate  spiritual  union 
with  him  (or  they  would  have  known  of  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  was  connected  with  that  step)  ; 
and  they  had  made  no  such  surrender,  and  formed  no 
such  union.  This  was  what  they  lacked.  They  were 
disciples  in  the  sense  of  being  believers  in  the  Mes- 
siahship, but  not  in  the  sense  the  Commission  re- 
quired, or  they  would  have  known  what  Apollos  did 
not  know — more  than  "the  baptism  of  John."  Now, 
Paul  tells  them  that  John's  requirement  was,  that 
those  receiving  his  baptism  should  *^believe  on''  the 
Messiah   when    he    should   come.      What  did  these 

words  mean?     Listen  I     "And  when  they  heard  this 

333 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

[this  was  the  cause  of  their  action]  they  were  baptized 
into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  It  was  this  state- 
ment, says  Luke,  that  caused  these  men  to  be  bap- 
tized. But  how  could  it  do  so  unless  this  believing  on 
Jesus  embraced  baptism?  Did  the  men  understand 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase?  If  not,  it  was  explained 
to  them;  but  Luke  informs  us  that  it  was  the  content 
of  this  statement  that  caused  them  to  be  baptized. 
What  baptism  meant  they  knew  from  John's  baptism. 
They  knew  that  it  meant  surrender,  submission  to 
God,  and  consecration  to  his  service;  and  they  now 
did  this — the  very  thing  they  lacked — to  Christ.  But 
were  they  not  baptized  as  a  result  of  further  instruc- 
tion from  Paul?  No;  for  Luke  tells  us  that  it  was 
from  hearing  this.  Thus  it  appears  that,  in  the  apos- 
tolic age,  the  command  to  believe  on  (eis)  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  caused  men  to  he  baptized. 

Believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  spoken 
of  those  who  had  never  known  anything  of  him,  un- 
doubtedly embraced  the  initial  step  of  intellectual 
conviction;  but  with  those  who  had  already  taken  this 
step,  it  as  certainly  embraced  what  remained  to  be 
done — personal  surrender  to  Christ  as  possessing  '*all 
authority  in  heaven  and  in  earth"  (Mt.  xxviii.  18), 
and  entrance  into  spiritual  union  with  him  in  an  act 
of  solemn  profession,  spoken  of  as  being  baptized  into 
him,  in  which  act  the  Holy  Spirit  met  the  candidate 
in  the  consummation  of  a  spiritual  union,  and  remain- 
ed as  an  abiding  guest.  This  spiritual  step  was  not 
taken  in  John's  baptism,  nor  was  it  required,  or  even 
possible,  before  Jesus'  enthronement  in  heaven.  It 
was  never  commanded  before  the  Great  Commission, 
and   even   then  the  apostles  were  not  permitted   to 

proclaim  it  until  after  Jesus'  coronation  and  his  send- 

334 


FAITH   DURING    THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

irig  forth  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  them  (Acts  i.4,  5). 

Just  what  John's  disciples  lacked  of  Christian  con- 
version is  entirely  plain,  and  it  was  precisely  this  that 
John  called  believing  on  Christ.  And  this  believing 
on  Christ  was  in  this  instance  accomplished  by  bap- 
tism into  his  name  (v.  5),  thus  placing  in  baptism 
precisely  the  same  spiritual  content  that  the  Scrip- 
tures everywhere  give  to  it. 

But  if  John  bade  all  his  disciples  believe  on  the 
Messiah  when  he  should  come,  and  if  this  included 
baptism,  would  it  not  have  required  a  rebaptism  of  all 
his  disciples?  No;  for  believing  on  him  did  not  nec- 
essarily embrace  baptism,  but  profession^  and  would 
properly  embrace  baptism  only  when  that  was  the 
appointed  means  of  profession.  During  Christ's 
personal  ministry  persons  became  his  disciples  in 
such  way  as  he  thought  fitting  under  the  conditions ; 
but  in  the  Great  Commission  baptism,  with  its  deep 
spiritual  content,  became  the  great  act  of  profession, 
and  was  made  binding  upon  all;  and  all  who  had  not 
previously  become  his  disciples  were  to  become  so  in 
the  appointed  way.* 

*It  has  been  thought  by  some  that,  as  no  mention  is  made  of 
the  rebaptism  of  Apollos,  it  did  not  take  place;  but  neither  is 
there  any  mention  in  the  entire  Book  of  Acts  of  verbal  confession 
of  Christ's  name,  though  we  cannot  doubt  that  it  took  place  in 
the  cases  of  conversion  related.  The  "common  opinion"  (so 
says  Meyer)  has  been  that  Aquila  baptized  Apollos  when  he  in- 
structed him  regarding  Christian  baptism,  and  this  is  the  view  of 
Hackett  and  Plumptree.  If,  to  escape  the  difficulty  of  the  silence 
of  the  narrative  at  this  point,  we  claim  that  Apollos  was  not  re- 
baptized,  we  encounter  other  difficulties  in  explaining  why  bap- 
tism was  administered  to  the  twelve  men,  and  not  to  him.  It  has 
been  suggested,  as  a  reason,  that  Apollos  may  have  been  baptized 
while  John's  baptism  was  still  in  force  and  that  these  men  had 
received  it  after  it  had  ceased  to  be  valid;  but  Paul,  in  pointing 
out  the  insufficiency  of  their  baptism,  speaiis  of  John's  baptism 
as  administered  by  himself,  and  not  as  an  obsolete  institution. 
Meyer's  suggestion  that  the  matter  of  rebaptism  may  have  been 

335 


MORAL  AND   SPITIITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

Believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  tlie  apostolic 
age,  included  baptism;  and  the  command  to  believe 
on  him  caused  men  to  be  baptized. 

Now,  this  fact  has  some  very  important  bearings. 
Here  is  an  expression  whose  content  on  the  lips  of 
Paul,  and  in  his  practice,  includes  baptism.  In  his 
great  argument  on  justification  in  the  Roman  and 
Galatian  letters  he  makes  faith  the  condition  of  justi- 
fication, and  he  describes  that  faith  as  a  believing  on 
(eis)  Christ.  In  Galatians  he  says:  *'Yet  knowing 
that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
save  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  believ- 
ed on  (ets)  Christ  Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified 
by  faith  in  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law" 
(Gal.  ii.  16).  That  is,  he  describes  the  faith  that  is 
the  condition  of  justification  in  language  which,  if 
uttered  to  a  body  of  men  in  that  age,  would  have 
caused  them  to  be  baptized.  What,  then,  must  be 
said  of  the  claim,  so  widely  made,  that  Paul's  doc- 
optional  with  the  converts  seems  hardly  probable,  since  baptism 
was  not  a  mere  ceremony,  but  a  profound  spiritual  act,  which  was 
either  called  for,  or  not.  If  John's  baptism  fulfilled  the  purpose 
of  Christian  baptism,  rebaptism  was  improper;  if  not,  Christian 
baptism  was  needed  and  should  have  been  required.  _  It  was  re- 
quired of  all  persons  who  had  not  become  Christ's  disciples  be- 
fore the  giving  of  the  Commission.  Peter's  command  to  the 
Pentecostians  who  asked  what  they  should  do  was  not  general, 
but  particular.  His  language  was,  "Repent  ye,  and  be  baptized 
every  o?ie  ofyou,'^  etc.  This  includes  all  to  whom  he  was  speak- 
ing. If  any  of  Christ's  disciples  were  in  the  audience,  Peter  was 
not  addressing  them,  for  he  had  not  charged  theui  with  the  guilt 
of  Christ's  condemnation  (v.  36),  they  were  not  "pricked  in  their 
heart," //z<?;)/  did  not  cry  "out  what  shall  we  do?"  and  therefore 
they  were  not  addressed  in  the  answer  to  that  question.  ^  They 
had  been  discipled  and,  not  needing  to  be  discipled  again,  did 
not  need  the  discipling  act.  But  of  those  whom  Peter  addressed 
he  commanded  evkry  one  to  be  baptized.  The  very  design  of 
such  language  is  to  cut  off  exceptions.  John's  disciples  in  tha*- 
audience — and  there  may  have  been  many — were  commanded  to 
be  baptized. 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

trine  of  justification  by  faith  excludes  baptism  as  a 
condition  of  justification,  when  in  the  Pauline  usage 
it  distinctly  indades  it? 

This  is  not  all.  In  the  same  passage  this  faitli  is 
spoken  of  as  "faith  in  Jesus  Christ" — or,  literally, 
justification  is  declared  to  be  "through  faith  of  Christ 
Jesus"  (8ta  TTt'sreco^  XptsTou 'I7;o-o0).  Now,  in  Romans  iii. 
22,  Paul  speaks  of  justification  in  the  same  way,  as 
taking  place  "through  faith  of  Christ"  (Sta  Trtgrews 
^l-qarov  XpidTov) ,  Thus  the  "faith  of  Christ,"  which  is 
made  the  condition  of  justification  in  both  Romans 
and  Galatians,  is  but  another  name  for  believing  on 
Christ,  which  in  Pauline  usage  includes  baptism. 

This  inclusion  of  baptism  in  the  content  of  that 
faith  which  is  reckoned  for  righteousness  is  not  in- 
consistent with  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  without  works,  for  he  distinctly  excludes  bap- 
tism from  the  category  of  works.  In  Titus  iii.  5  he 
says:  "Not  by  works  done  in  righteousness,  which 
we  did  ourselves,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved 
us  through  the  washing  of  regeneration  [baptism] 
and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Baptism  is  here 
represented,  like  the  bestowment  of  the  Spirit,  as 
God's  act,-^ — which  it  certainly  is  through  the  hand  of 
the  administrator, — and  is  declared  to  be  not  a  work 
of  righteousness  done  by  ourselves.  This  is  unques- 
tionably correct;  for  in  so  far  as  baptism  is  a  work  at 
all,  it  is  the  act  of  another.  What  the  candidate  does 
in  baptism  is  to  put  on  Christ  and  enter  into  union 
with  him;  and  this  is  simply /a?'/^.  Justification  by 
baptism  is  purely  justification  by  faith.  Thus,  the 
introduction  of  baptism  does  not  affect  the  pure  spir- 
ituality of  the  condition  of  justification. 

The  men  spoken  of  in  Acts  xix.  1-7,  lacked  a  great 
22  337 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

spiritual  step, — surrender  to  Christ,  spirituall}^  put- 
ting on  Christ,  entering  into  spiritual  union  with 
Christ, — and  Paul's  language  places  this  spiritual  step 
in  baptism  (Rom.  vi.  1-7;  Gal.  iii.  26,  27).  That  it 
really  took  place  there  in  Paul's  time,  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  command  to  take  this  spiritual  step — to 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus — was  obeyed  by  being  bap- 
tized into  his  name.  Or  we  may  turn  the  light  of 
this  fact  in  another  direction,  for  facts  teach  many 
lessons.  These  men  seem  to  have  believed  in  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus;  but  they  did  not  kuow  what  he 
wanted  of  them,  for  they  knew  nothing  of  the  Com- 
missiou.  To  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  therefore, 
means  what  these  men  lacked — surrender,  entrance 
into  spiritual  union  with  Christ,  baptism. 

Make  what  use  of  it  we  may,  the  fact  stands  that  in 
the  apostolic  age  the  command  to  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  caused  men  to  be  baptized;  and  it  should 
do  so  now. 

Let  us  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  another 
phrase,  which  occurs  a  few  times  in  Acts  and  the 
epistle  to  the  Romans.  It  differs  from  the  phras-e  just 
considered  only  in  the  substitution  of  cVt  for  m.  We 
can  best  examine  its  meaning  in  connection  with  a 
passage  in  Acts  which  is  often  quoted.  After  the 
earthquake  at  Philippi,  in  answer  to  the  jailer's 
question,  *'What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Paul  and 
Silas  answer:  "Believe  on  (ctti)  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,  thou  and  thy  house"  (Acts  xvi. 
31). 

At  the  very  threshold  of  our  investigation  we  are 

met  by  a  strange  fact.     There  are  three  passages  in 

the   Acts  of   Apostles  in   which   the   answer  to   the 

338 


FAITH   DURING  THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

question,  what  to  do  to  be  saved,  is  given.  These 
are  Acts  ii.  38,  xxii.  16,  and  the  passage  we  are  now 
considering.  The  strange  fact  is  this:  The  answer 
of  Paul  and  SiUxs  to  the  jailer  is  universally  used  as 
the  answer  to  inquirers,  in  all  revival  meetings,  by 
those  who  regard  saving  faith  as  preceding  baptism, 
while  neither  of  the  other  answers  is  ever  used.  Yet, 
unless  they  disagree,  the  language  of  all  these  pas- 
sages must  be,  with  their  contexts,  but  different  ex- 
pressions of  the  same  thought.  Why,  then,  is  the 
answer  of  Acts  xvi.  31  always  chosen  and  that  of  the 
other  two  passages  excluded  (for  when  the  question 
has  been  pressed,  it  has  been  found  that  there  was 
decided  objection  to  their  use  with  inquirers)?  I-  can 
conceive  of  but  one  explanation  of  this  remarkable 
fact,  viz.,  that  the  language  of  Acts  xvi.  31  lends 
itself  more  readily  to  a  private  interpretation,  but 
that  that  interpretation  is  not  the  correct  one,  or  the 
other  passages  would  be  equally  acceptable. 

The  phrases  Trto-revetv  €7rt  and  Trto-revetv  ei's  are  regarded 
by  scholars  as  possessing  the  same  meaning.  They 
are  rendered  by  both  the  Authorized  and  Revised 
Versions  by  the  same  words  (believe  on) ;  the  same 
sense  is  given  to  them  in  Thayer's  iV.  T.  Lexicon; 
and  Winer  gives  them  the  same  definition,  including 
profession,  especially  in  Acts  ix.  42  and  xxii.  19.* 
In  the  former  of  these  passages  it  is  evident  that  the 
phrase  refers  to  the  act  of  becoming  Christians,  or 
professed  believers,  just  as  the  simple  word  ''be- 
lieved" does  in  ch.  ii.  44;  in  the  latter,  it  is  plain  that 
professed  believers  are  meant,  as  Saul's  persecution 
was   certainly  directed  against  only  those  whom   he 


^Grammar  of  N.  T.  Greek,  §31,  5. 

339 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

knew  to  be  believers,  and  such  knowledge  came 
through  their  profession.  The  phrase  (Trto-reveiv  iirl) 
was  therefore  familiarly  used  to  express  the  entire 
process  of  conversion,  including  profession. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  particular  examination  of 
this  phrase  as  used  in  Acts  xvi.  31,  let  us  inquire 
regarding  the  scope  of  its  application.  Did  it  express 
a  jmrt  of  what  it  was  necessary  for  the  jailer  to  do  in 
order  to  be  saved,  or  did  it  embrace  his  entire  duty 
in  order  to  salvation?  It  is  the  answer  given  to  his 
direct  question,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  and 
should  naturally  embrace  his  entire  duty  to  that  end; 
and  that  it  did  so  is  made  more  evident  by  the  im- 
mediately succeeding  assurance,  *'and  thou  shalt  be 
saved,  thou  and  thy  house."  The  language  is  equiva- 
lent to:  Do  this,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved;  and  the 
statement  would  not  be  true  if  believing  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  included  only  part  of  the  condition  of  salvation. 
What,  then,  does  the  language  mean? 

The  phrase  in  question  is  composed  of  two  words; 
TTio-reuW,  meaning  to  believe  or  trust,  and  i-n-l,  on  or 
upon;  and  the  action  is  represented  as  terminating, 
not  on  a  truth  or  proposition,  but  on  a  p'erson.  The 
meaning  would  thus  be,  to  rest  one's  faith  upon,  rely 
upon,  or  trust,  a  person.  Taken  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  words  of  which  it  is  composed,  this  is  all  that 
the  phrase  means.  The  jailer  felt  that  he  had  offend- 
ed the  God  whom  Paul  and  Silas  worshipped,  and, 
filled  with  alarm,  he  inquired  what  he  must  do  to  turn 
away  his  anger  and  escape  its  consequences.  This  is 
the  answer  they  give  him.  Now,  the  first  thing  that 
strikes  us  in  this  answer  is  that  it  contains  no  moral 
element.    The  jailer  could  fulfil  this  condition  without 

any  change  of  heart  or  character.     The  highwayman 

340 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

relies  upon,  or  trusts,  his  bandit  chief  or  his  fellow 
robber.  The  simple  act  of  relying  upon  another  is 
not  at  all  incompatible  with  the  blackest  crimes.  If 
Christ  has  made  this  simple  act  the  condition  of  sal- 
vation, the  condition  is  one  that  has  nothing  to  do 
with  character,  and  may  be  performed  by  any  one, 
good  or  bad.  This  is  all  the  language  of  Paul  means, 
taken  in  its  ordinary  sense ;  and  the  jailer  may  have  so 
understood  it  at  the  time.  But  the  entire  religious 
world  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  means  more  than  this 
— that  the  phrase  is  pregnant  with  a  larger  meaning 
than  the  simple  sense  of  the  words  requires.*  There 
can  be  no  doubt  about  the  correctness  of  this  view, 
but  it  brings  us  to  two  very  important  questions: 
How  do  we  reach  this  larger  meaning?  and  what  is  it? 

We  are  here  confronted  with  one  of  the  most  seduc- 
tive perils  of  the  interpreter.  It  is  easy  to  supply  the 
supposed  meaning  out  of  our  own  doctrinal  precon- 
ceptions, and  yet  fail  to  be  conscious  that  we  are  not 
interpreting,  but  perverting,  the  Scripture.  Our  gen- 
eral estimate  of  Christianity  leads  us  to  believe  that 
the  passage  cannot  teach  the  moral  monstrosity  of  a 
conversion  without  repentance,  but  just  what  and 
how  much  pregnant  force  we  are  to  attribute  to  this 
phrase  does  not  so  readily  appear.  It  is  certain  that, 
if  our  interpretation  is  to  be  of  any  value,  we  must  be 
guided  by  some  principle,  and  apply  it  consistently. 

As  our  object  is  not  to  read  some  meaning  of  our 
own  into  the  passage,  but  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of 
the  one  who  uttered  it,  and  as  that  meaning  is  not 
comprehended  in  the  words  of  the  phrase  he  used, 
we  must  look  for  it  either  in  the  context  or  in  his  other 

*  Winer  takes  the  phrase  as  pregnant,  and  gives  it  a  wider  sense 
than  is  even  implied  in  the  construction. — Grammar^  §31,  5. 

341 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

utterances  on  the  subject.  Here  is  our  principle,  and 
we  nuLst  apply  it  faithfull3\  What,  then,  of  the  con- 
text? We  read:  *'And  they  spake  the  word  of  the 
Lord  unto  him,  with  all  that  were  in  his  house." 
What  they  spake  to  him  we  are  not  told,  but  it  was 
certainly  the  gospel  that  Paul  preached  to  sinners; 
and  we  are  thus  directed  to  the  contents  of  that  gos- 
pel. Moreover,  as  Paul  did  not  preach  a  different 
gospel  from  that  of  the  other  apostles,  we  may  con- 
sult their  teaching  also  as  sources  of  information,  as 
well  as  the  teaching  of  Christ  himself.  In  all  these 
we  find  abundant  evidence  that  repentance  is  a  condi- 
tion of  salvation,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  neither 
Paul  nor  any  other  apostle  will  state  any  condition  of 
salvation  that  omits  it.  Thus  we  are  fully  warranted 
in  claiming  that  the  faith  that  Paul  required  of  the 
jailer  was  a  moral  and  loyal  faith.  But  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  how  we  reach  this  conclusion,  and  we 
must  be  true  to  the  principle  that  has  conducted  us 
to  it.  Our  only  means  of  knowing  that  this  faith 
possessed  a  moral  content  is  the  teaching  of  other 
Scriptures  on  the  subject.  Now,  does  the  application 
of  this  principle  carry  us  any  farther?  The  Scriptures 
declare  as  clearly  and  positively  that  baptism  is  a  con- 
dition of  salvation,  or  remission  of  sins,  as  they  do 
that  repentance  is.  There  are  no  clearer  or  more 
definite  statements  in  the  New  Testament  than  those 
of  Acts  ii.38,  xxii.  16,  and  1  Pet.  iii.  21,  with  others 
that  might  be  named;  and  were  methods  similar  to 
those  used  to  break  the  natural  force  of  these  pas- 
sages applied  to  those  which  make  repentance  a  con- 
dition of  salvation,  it  is  questionable  whether  they 
could  stand  against  them.  But  why  try  so  to  inter- 
pret these  passages  regarding  baptism  as  to  eliminate 

342 


FAITH   DURING  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

its  conditionality?  The  reason  usually  urged  is  that 
they  must  be  made  to  agree  with  such  statements  as 
that  contained  in  Actsxvi.  31.  But  what  that  pas- 
sage means  is  precisely  what  we  are  trying  to  find 
out,  and  our  only  means  of  doing  so  is  by  ascertain- 
ing the  teachings  of  other  passages  on  the  subject. 
We  start  out  to  do  this,  and  take  what  we  like,  and 
throw  away  what  we  do  not  want.  This  is  not  inter- 
pretation. The  same  method  that  puts  a  moral  element 
into  the  faith  of  Acts  xvi.  31  puts  baptism  into  it  also. 
This  playing  fast  and  loose  with  principles  of  inter- 
pretation will  enable  us  conveniently  to  find  what  we 
want  in  the  Scriptures,  but  will  make  it  forever  im- 
possible to  arrive  at  their  true  meaning.  Paul  him- 
self places  baptism  (*'the  washing  of  regeneration," 
Tit.  iii.  5*)  among  the  conditions" of  salvation,  that  is, 
in  the  very  area  which  he  makes  faith  cover  in  his 
answer  to  the  jailer.  Moreover,  when  he  spoke  **the 
word  of  the  Lord,'*  which  explained  to  the  jailer 
what  was  meant  by  believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  the 
"jailer  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and 
washed  their  stripes,  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all  his, 
immediately."  The  speaking  of  the  word  of  the  Lord 
to  inquirers  always  resulted  in  immediate  baptism  in 

*The  genuineness  of  the  pastoral  epistles  has  been  largely 
questioned  by  the  more  radical  school  of  critics;  but  the  objec- 
tions urged  against  them  are  mainly  internal,  and  these  are  now 
being  widely  regarded  as  invalid.  Prof.  Geo.  B.  Stevens  says 
that  "more  conservative  German  scholars,  and  English  scholars 
generally,  hold  to  the  genuineness  of  the  first  ten  Paulines,  and 
most  of  them  regard  the  Pastorals  also  as  genuine."  *'Zahn  in 
his  Einlcitnng  defends  the  genuineness  of  all  the  Paulines." — 
Theology  of  the  New  Testament,  p.  326. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Barnard  in  his  work  on  The  Pastoral  Epistles,  says 
that  "there  is  no  adequate  reason  forbidding  us  to  acquiesce  in 
their  own  claim,  confirmed  by  the  unbroken  tradition  of  the 
Christian  church,  that  they  were  written  by  the  hand  of  St. 
V2M\y— Biblical  WorkU  Sept.,  1900,  p.  Z28. 

343 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

the  apostolic  age;  it  does  not  do  so  where  the  faith 
that  saves  is  regarded  as  reaching  its  consummation 
before  baptis7n. 

The  question  then  stands  thus:  The  principle  of 
interpretation  which  makes  believing  on  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  this  passage,  include  repentance,  makes  it 
include  baptism  also;  and  if  we  reject  this  we  must, 
to  be  consistent,  reject  also  the  moral  and  spiritual 
element  of  faith,  thus  bringing  a  profound  moral 
disaster  to  Christianity.  The  jailer's  believing  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  included  his  baptism,  and  it  is  thus  that 
after  his  baptism,  he  "rejoiced  greatly,  with  all  his 
house,  having  believed  in  God."  His  believing  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  was  consummated  in  his  baptism. 

We  may  add  that  it  is  entirely  consistent  that  this 
should  be  so.  If  baptism  is,  as  it  was  regarded  by 
Paul,  not  a  mere  outward  or  physical  act,  but  the 
putting  on  of  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  27)  and  entering  into 
union  with  him  (Rom.  vi.  5),  it  embraces  the  last 
spiritual  step  in  conversion — a  step  also  which  is  of 
the  very  nature  of  faith;  and  it  would  be  even  sur- 
prising had  Paul  not  included  it  in  the  process  of  be- 
lieving on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  had  excluded  it 
from  the  conditions  of  salvation.  The  omission  of 
such  a  step  from  the  meaning  of  this  phrase  would 
have  been  little  less  amazing  than  the  omission  of 
repentance. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  another  impor- 
tant fact.  In  Paul's  argument  on  justification  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Romans,  he  designates  the  faith 
which  is  reckoned  for  righteousness  by  the  same  term 
that  he  uses  in  Acts  xvi.  31.  Having  spoken  of  Abra- 
ham's faith  having  been  reckoned  for  righteousness,  he 

says  (Rom.  iv.  5)  :  "But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but 

344 


FAITH   DURING   THE   APOSTOLIC   AGE 

believetli  on  (eTrt)  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his 
faith  is  reckoned  for  righteousness."  Again,  in  the 
23d  and  24th  verses,  having  described  Abraham's 
faith,  he  says:  "Now  it  was  not  written  for  his  sake 
alone,  that  it  was  reckoned  unto  him;  but  for  our 
sake  also,  unto  whom  it  shall  be  reckoned,  who  be- 
lieve on  (cTTt)  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from 
the  dead,"  etc.  In  these  two  passages  Paul  designates 
the  faith  that  is  reckoned  for  righteousness  by  the 
Very  same  phrase  that  he  has  used  (Acts  xvi.  31)  to 
cover  ground  which  he  himself  declares  (Titus  iii.  5) 
to  include  baptism.  In  Acts  xvi.  31  he  tells  what  one 
must  do  to  be  saved,  and  in  Titus  iii.  5  he  declares 
baptism  to  be  a  condition  of  salvation.  In  view  of 
this  fact,  we  may  say  that  so  far  is  it  from  being  true 
that  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  excludes 
baptism,  that  a  fair  consideration  of  all  his  statements 
on  the  subject  leads  directly  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  faith  that  justifies  includes  baptism.  And  with 
this  all  that  he  says  is  consistent;  for  he  definitely  ex- 
cludes baptism  from  the  category  of  works  (Titus  iii. 
5),  and  places  in  it  a  spiritual  element  which  condi- 
tions justification,  viz.,  putting  on  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  26) 
and  entering  into  union  with  him  (Rom.  vi.  5). 

Thus,  an  examination  of  the  content  of  both  of  the 
phrases  ( Trio-Tevciv  a?  and  Trtsreucti/  cTTt )  by  which,  he 
designates  the  faith  that  justifies  leads  to  one  con- 
clusion— that  he  includes  baptism  in  his  condition  of 
justification. 

By  the  preceding  examination  I  think  it  has  been 

established : 

1.     That  personal,   possessive  faith  in  Christ  does 

not,  under  any  of  its  designations,  in  the  teaching  and 

345 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

practice  of  the  apostles,  take  place  before  baptism. 

2.  That  the  terms  by  which  this  faith  is  commonly 
designated  were  used  by  the  apostles  to  include  bap- 
tism. The  severance  of  faith  from  baptism  in  justifi- 
cation and  salvation  is  without  Scripture  warrant. 

846 


CHAPTER  V. 

ST.  Paul's  contersion. 

The  textual  proofs  presented  in  the  last  chapter  do 
not  exhaust  our  evidence  on  the  relation  of  baptism 
to  justifying  faith.  There  remains  still  another  class 
of  evidence  quite  different  in  character,  relating  not 
to  the  meaning  of  words,  but  to  the  meaning  of  facts. 
The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  furnishes  us  with  the  history 
of  the  execution  of  the  Great  Commission  given  by 
Christ,  by  the  men  whom  he  had  chosen  and  fitted  for 
that  purpose.  It  aims  to  deal  with  facts  rather  than 
with  sayings,  or  with  sayings  only  so  far  as  they  form 
part  of  the  facts  presented.  It  is  not  theoretical;  it  is 
not  didactic,  only  as  facts  themselves  are  the  greatest 
of  teachers.  It  is  illustrative;  it  is  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  the  Commission.  It  is,  or  should  be,  the 
revivalist's  handbook.  It  presents  with  more  or  less 
of  detail  the  records  of  many  conversions.  It  recounts 
the  acts  of  men  whose  mission  and  occupation  it  was 
to  convert.  So  largely  does  it  deal  with  the  work  of 
conversion  that  it  might  not  unfitly  be  called  the 
Book  of  Conversions.  It  is  the  best  and  most  com- 
plete commentary  on  the  Commission.  It  is  to  the 
Commission  what  the  laboratory  is  to  the  verbal 
teaching  of  chemistry.  It  does  not  simply  tell  us 
how  to  convert  men,  but  shows  us  how;  and  in  its 
master  strokes  of  historic  delineation  answers  a 
thousand  questions  unthought-of  even  by  the  writer. 
We  stand  in  great  meetings;  behold  men  shaken  by 
the  truth  of  the  gospel  writhing  in  the  agonies  of  con- 
viction.    We  hear  their  cry  of  pain  and  of  anxious 

347 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

inquiry.  Their  case  is  our  own.  We  know  where 
they  stand  and  how  they  feel.  Like  a  voice  out  of 
heaven  comes  the  apostolic  answer  to  them,  clear, 
distinct,  unmistakable.  It  is  our  answer,  our  pattern. 
To  the  plain  words  of  the  Commission  are  added  these 
plain  facts  of  its  execution.  Protestantism  is  Protes- 
tant with  respect  to  all  but  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
It  has  not  been  true  to  that  book.  When  it  shall 
take  the  models  of  conversion  therein  presented  as 
its  own,  it  will  be  far  on  its  way  to  Christian  unity. 

Among  the  accounts  of  conversion  recorded  in  the 
Acts,  there  is  none  fraught  with  more  of  interest, 
and  which  is  more  instructive  in  its  bearings  on  im- 
portant questions  than  that  of  the  apostle  Paul. 
There  is  none,  moreover,  given  with  more  of  detail. 
It  is  related  once  by  Luke  and  twice  by  Paul  himself, 
under  different  circumstances,  calling  different  feat- 
ures to  the  front. 

Few  events  in  the  history  of  the  human  race  have 
so  profoundly  affected  mankind  as  the  conversion  of 
the  apostle  Paul.  It  gave  to  primitive  Christianity 
its  first  scholar,  its  profoundest  intellect,  and  its 
greatest  apostle.  It  has  shaped  the  thought  of  nine- 
teen centuries,  and  furnished  the  fiery  weapons  of  the 
Great  Keformation.  It  brought  the  human  intellect 
to  the  feet  of  Christ.  It  was  Christianity  conquering 
on  the  battlefield  of  thought.  Apart  from  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Christ,  it  was  the  most  momen- 
tous event  of  that  century,  if  not  of  any  century. 

Not  for  this,  however,  do  we   speak  of  it  at  this 

time,  but  for  another  reason:     The  conversion  of  St. 

Paul  was  thQfons  et  origo  of  his  theology.     The  heart 

makes  the  theologian,  and  out  of  the  deep  fountain 

of  Paul's  own  experience  sprang  his  conception  of 

348 


ST.   PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

tHe  Christian  religion.  The  conversion  of  St.  Paul 
is  the  best  of  all  commentaries  on  his  epistles.  Out 
of  the  fervid  heats  of  this  tremendous  event  the 
Books  of  Romans  and  Gahitians  were  cast.  Paul's 
writings  are  not  speculative.  They  are  the  play  of 
the  intellect  over  the  throbbing,  quickening  exper- 
iences of  his  own  life.  They  lie  close  upon  fact; 
they  are  not  simply  revelation  even,  but  partake  of 
the  character  and  certitude  of  science. 

With  reverence  let  us  ascend  into  the  holy  mount 
where  this  great  soul  found  its  transfiguration,  and 
listen  to  words  almost  too  sacred  to  be  uttered.  Let 
us  behold  this  event  in  its  terrors,  in  its  struggles,  and 
in  its  final  peace.  Would  there  were  more  conver- 
sions like  it  in  our  day ! 

Saul  was  the  arch-persecutor  of  his  time.  He  had 
undertaken  to  exterminate  Christianity.  His  task 
was  not  uncongenial  to  him.  His  heart  was  in  it.  He 
was  ''exceedingly  mad"  against  his  victims  and  went 
to  his  task  "breathing  forth  threatenings  and  slaught- 
er" against  them.  Though  fortified  by  conscience, 
there  was  in  his  anger  the  fierce  passion  of  a  mad- 
dened animal.  He  demanded  the  renunciation  of 
Christ;  and  those  whom  he  could  not  induce  to  blas- 
pheme, were  committed  to  prison  or  even  to  death. 
When  they  were  condemned  he  gave  his  voice  against 
them.  He  was  in  the  audience  that  stoned  Stephen, 
and  kept  the  clothes  of  the  executioners,  being  parti- 
ceps  criminis  in  his  martyrdom.  Having  made  havoc 
of  the  church  in  and  about  Jerusalem,  he  followed 
the  refugees  who  had  escaped  him  to  strange  cities. 
He  at  length  obtains  letters  from  the  high  priest  to  go 
to  Damascus,  and   bring   all   incorrigibles   bound   to 

Jerusalem  for  punishment.     As  his  company  neared 

349 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  city,  about  noon,  a  great  light  lightened  around 
them,  and  they  were  thrown  to  the  ground.  Saul 
heard  a  voice  saying  to  him  in  the  *' Hebrew"  tongue, 
"Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me?"  He  answered, 
"Who  art  thou.  Lord?"  The  voice  said  to  him,  "I 
am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou  persecutest."  Saul 
replied,  "What  shall  I  do.  Lord?"  The  answer  was: 
"Arise,  and  go  into  Damascus,  and  there  it  shall  be 
told  thee  of  all  things  which  are  appointed  for  thee  to 
do." 

Having  arisen  from  the  ground,  Saul  found  that 
he  was  blind,  and  was  led  by  his  attendants  into  the 
city,  where  he  remained  at  the  house  of  Judas  for 
three  days  without  food  or  drink.  At  length  he  be- 
held in  a  vision  a  man  named  Ananias  coming  in  and 
laying  hands  on  him  that  he  might  receive  his  sight. 
About  that  time  also  the  Lord  visited  Ananias  and 
instructed  him  to  go  to  Saul,  announcing  the  object. 
But  Ananias  was  afraid,  having  known  of  Saul's 
career,  and  being  apprised  of  the  nature  of  his  mis- 
sion to  Damascus.  The  Lord  assured  him  by  stating 
to  him  the  facts  of  which  he  was  still  ignorant,  and 
bade  him  go.  Ananias  visits  Saul,  and,  having  an- 
nounced' his  mission,  restores  his  sight,  and  then 
says:  "And  now  why  tarriest  thou?  arise,  and  be 
baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  his 
name."  Having  done  this,  Saul  partook  of  food  and 
was  strengthened. 

These  are  the  main  facts  connected  with  Saul's 
conversion,  briefly  stated.  What  do  they  import? 
Many  things.  Many  important  questions  center  in 
this  occurrence,  and  receive  light  from  it. 

The  one  which  we  may  most  conveniently  consider 

first  is  that  concerning  Saul's  baptism.    The  command 

350 


ST.    PAUI/S    (U)XVERSrON 

to  him  was  to  arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away 
his  sins  callingon  his  (Christ's)  name.  The  natural 
import  of  such  language  is  plain.  It  can  convey  no 
other  meaning  than  that,  under  the  figure  of  the 
washing  of  water,  Saul  was  to  receive  remission  of 
sins  in  baptism.*  We  believe  that  any  fair  construc- 
tion of  this  language  is  impossible  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  Saul's  sins  had  already  been  remitted.  But 
it  is  not  our  purpose  to  undertake  any  exegetical  ex- 
amination of  the  passage,  nor  to  consider  any  of 
those  methods  which  are  resorted  to  to  turn  it  aside 
from  its  more  obvious  meaning.  All  such  efforts 
have  their  origin  in  the  belief  that  Saul's  conversion 
was  consummated  at  the  time  of  his  meeting  with 
Christ  on  the  Damascus  road,  and  that  his  sins  were 
therefore  then  pardoned,  making  it  necessary  to  find 
some  way  to  dispose  of  this  awkwardly  plain  passage 
connecting  remission  of  sins  with  baptism.  When 
one  finds  it  necessary  to  explain  away  such  language 
as  this,  it  should  cause  him  to  pause  and  inquire  anew 
whether  he  has  rightly  apprehended  the  conditions  of 
the  case.  It  is  of  this  that  we  purpose  to  inquire; 
and  when  we  shall  have  learned  the  facts  and  noted 
their  bearing,  perhaps  we  shall  not  desire  to  find 
any  other  meaning  than  the  obvious  one  for  the  lan- 
guage of  this  passage. 

§i.     A  Moral  Question. 

Saul  was  guilty  of  a  great  crime  against  the  church 

*Dr.  Hackett,  tlie  noted  Baptist  commentator,  says  of  this 
passage:  "The  clause  states  a  result  of  baptism,  in  language 
derived  from  the  nature  of  that  ordinance.  It  answers  to  eis 
aphesin  hamartioon  in  Acts  ii.  38,  i.  e.,  submit  to  the  rite  in  order 
to  be  forgiven.  In  both  passages  baptism  is  represented  as  hav- 
ing this  importance  or  efficacy,  because  it  is  the  sign  of  the 
repentance  and  faith  which  are  the  conditions  of  salvation." — 
Hackett' s  Com.  on  Acts^  in  loco. 

351 


MOKAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

of  Jesus  Christ.  He  had  imprisoned  many  of  its 
members,  and  delivered  others  to  death.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  work  of  exterminating  Christianity. 
The  physical  evils  which  he  brought  upon  the  church 
did  not,  however,  measure  the  extent  of  his  wrong. 
These  were  but  a  means  to  an  end.  The  object  sought 
was  to  drive  as  many  as  possible  from  their  profes- 
sion, and  prevent  any  others  from  becoming  Chris- 
tians. He  could  not  shut  the  door  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  he  did  harricade  it  with  imprisonment 
and  death.  During  Christ's  earthly  ministry  many 
were  kept  from  becoming  his  disciples  even  by  the 
threat  of  the  rulers  to  turn  them  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue. None  but  souls  of  the  most  heroic  mold 
could  pass  such  a  barrier  as  Saul  had  erected  against 
the  church.  Thousands  were  almost  certainly  being 
kept  from  Christ  by  the  reign  of  terror  which  Saul 
had  inaugurated.  The  door  of  the  kingdom  was 
closed  to  all  but  the  most  heroic,  and  Christianity 
was  made  a  crime  worthy  of 'death  by  the  very  guides 
to  whom  the  people  had  been  wont  to  look  with  con- 
fidence for  spiritual  guidance.  Saul  was  engaged  in 
this  very  work  of  persecution  when  Christ  struck  him 
to  the  earth,  and  charged  home  his  crime  upon  him. 
This  stopped  his  operations  and  stayed  the  blow  that 
was  about  to  fall  upon  the  church  at  Damascus,  but 
it  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  reign  of  terror  and  re- 
7iiove  the  barricade  against  the  church  of  Christ. 
The  men  who  were  with  Saul  had  heard  a  sound  as  of 
a  voice,  but  they  had  not  distinguished  the  words  that 
were  spoken.  The  occurrence,  to  them,  was  a  strange 
and  inexplicable  mystery.  We  have  no  information 
that  Saul  communicated  to  them  what  he  had  heard, 

and  we  have  no  reason  to  think  he  did.     He  was   not 

352 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

in  a  mood  for  talking,  especially  to  these  men,  who 
were  subalterns.  Besides,  the  end  was  not  yet,  even 
in  his  own  mind.  Not  one  word  had  yet  been  spoken 
about  his  own  salvation,  and  he  was  waiting  for 
further  light.  He  was  not  yet  ready  to  talk  to  such 
men.  At  least,  we  may  say  that  the  account  furnishes 
no  evidence  that  he  did. 

On  reaching  the  city  he  secures  lodging  with  a  man 
named  Judas.*  There  he  remains  for  three  days,  but 
the  reign  of  terror  continues.  The  barricade  against 
the  door  of  Christ's  kingdom  is  not  removed.  One 
decisive  word  from  Saul  to  the  disciples  at  Damascus 
would  have  removed  it.  That  word  is  not  spoken. 
The  church  has  its  first  news  of  any  change  in  Saul, 
direct  from  heaven.  No  doubt,  rumor  had  brought 
them  news  of  the  marvelous  occurrence  on  the  road 
to  Damascus.  They  knew  that  the  lion  had  been 
wounded,  and  supposed  him  lying  in  his  lair;  and 
they  awaited  with  trembling  the  moment  when  he 
should  spring  upon  them.  With  reasons  why  Saul 
did  not  have  some  such  decisive  communication  with 
the  church  at  Damascus,  we  are  not  at  present  con- 
cerned.   It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  note  that  he 


*The  assumption  that  Judas  was  a  disciple  has  nothing  in  its 
favor.  Indeed,  the  facts  are  against  it.  Saul  could  not  have 
gained  admission  to  the  house  of  a  disciple,  unless  he  had  pro- 
fessed himself  a  changed  man,  and  even  then  he  would  have 
been  suspected.  But  had  he  been  quartered  with  a  disciple  for 
three  days,  who  had  been  made  acquainted  with  all  the  facts,  is 
it  probable  that  the  other  disciples  of  Damascus,  who  were 
living  in  mortal  terror  because  of  this  man,  should  not  have 
found  it  out?  Yet,  after  three  days,  Ananias,  probably  the  most 
prominent  disciple  in  the  city,  had  not  yet  heard  of  it,  and  was 
first  apprised  of  what  had  happened  by  a  vision  from  heaven. 
Judas  was  a  Jew,  as  his  name  imports,  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that,  in  seeking  lodgings,  Saul  had  aimed  at  anything 
further  than  a  convenient  place  where  he  might  have  the  desired 
accommodations. 

23  353 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

did  not,  and  that  the  reign  of  terror  continued.  The 
crime  against  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  tvas  still  being 
perpetuated.  Its  door  is  still  barricaded.  Men  are 
still  being  driven  away  from  Christ.  One  decisive 
word  from  Saul  would  end  the  mischief.  That  word 
is  not  spoken. 

Now  let  us  ask  the  question  whether  that  man  was 
pardoned  when  Christ  met  him  on  the  road  to  Damas- 
cus. Further,  was  he  pardoned  during  the  three  days 
of  silence  and  waiting  at  Damascus?  Was  he  par- 
doned while  he  was  perpetuating  a  crime?  If  so,  his 
pardon  was  immoral 

But,  are  we  entirely  just  to  Saul?  Does  not  the 
narrative  warrant  us  in  saying  that  he  was  not  wil- 
fully perpetuating  any  wrong?  Let  this  be  admitted, 
and  the  question  still  returns  upon  us:  Shall  he  be 
pardoned  while  perpetuating  a  wrong,  on  the  ground 
that  he  does  not  realize  it?  or  shall  he  not  rather  be 
made  to  realize  his  wrong,  and  then  be  pardoned 
when  he  forsakes  it?  Shall  the  sinner's  moral  stand- 
ard form  the  ground  of  the  divine  acceptance,  or  shall 
God's?  Shall  the  sinner  or  Grod  determine  the  con- 
ditions of  pardon?  When  the  apostles  go  forth  to 
convert  the  nations  sunk  in  the  depths  of  moral  pol- 
lution, shall  they  admit  them  to  all  the  privileges  of 
the  redeemed,  while  continuing  in  the  practice  of  the 
grossest  immoralities,  and  even  crimes,  because  for- 
sooth they  do  not  realize  their  degradation,  and  some 
of  their  grossest  vices  are  not  only  not  considered 
sinful,  but  are  even  sanctioned  by  the  religions  they 
have 'been  taught?  Is  conversion  to  be  a  mere  mak- 
ing up  with  God,  regardless  of  the  moral  grounds  on 
which  it  rests?  If  such  were  the  character  of  Chris- 
tianity it  would  merit  the  contempt  of  every  righteous 

354 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

man.  Such  is  not  its  ch:iractei*.  It  rests  on  the  foun- 
dation of  a  true  righteousness.  It  has  led  and  edu- 
cated the  conscience  of  the  world  for  nineteen  cen- 
turies; it  has  been  more  moral  than  the  best  morality 
of  every  age;  and  in  its  pure,  sweet  fountains  the 
noblest  of  men  are  yet  to  find  undreamed-of  wealth 
of  moral  inspiration.  We  can  accept  no  such  low 
standard  in  the  decision  of  this  case.  If  Saul  does 
not  realize  that  he  is  perpetuating  a  great  wrong,  he 
must  be  brought  to  realize  it,  and  forsake  it,  before 
he  is  pardoned.  There  is  no  other  Christian  way,  no 
other  moral  way.  To  pardon  a  man  while  he  is  per- 
petuating his  sin  is  to  wrong  the  man  and  sanction 
his  sin.  If  Saul  does  not  realize  that  he  is  perpetu- 
ating a  great  wrong,  it  may  mitigate  the  enormity  of 
his  guilt;  but  to  declare  him  pardoned  on  that  ground, 
is  to  smirch  the  moral  chara-cter  of  Christianity  and 
belie  the  very  fundamental  principles  of  its  nature. 
Saul  cannot  be  pardoned  on  this  ground.  There  is  a 
crime  to  be  disposed  of.  It  hangs  there  a  black, 
awful  reality  between  him  and  Heaven,  No  fanciful 
legerdemain  can  wave  it  aside.  Let  us  beware  of 
trampling  down  moral  distinctions.  That  cloud  will 
stay  till  it  can  be  removed  without  moral  dishonor  to 
Christianity.  That  man  must  stop  the  perpetuation  of 
that  crime  before  he  can  he  pardoned. 

But  have  we  yet  reached  the  exact  situation?  Are 
we  really  to  account  for  Saul's  silence  on  the  ground 
of  ignorance?  Had  he  not  met  Christ  in  the  way  and 
asked  him  what  he  should  do?  and  had  not  Christ 
directed  him  to  proceed  to  Damascus,  where  the  in- 
formation would  be  imparted?  and  was  Saul  not 
therefore  now  waiting  for  a  revelation  of  the  divine 

will?     Does  not  this  shift  the  responsibility  from  his 

355 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

shoulders?  If  it  does  (and  it  certainly  does  modify 
it),  where  does  it  place  it?  Is  Christ  to  be  made 
responsible  for  the  perpetuation  of  a  great  wrong? 
Is  he  to  ignore  it  and  grant  full  pardon  to  the  offend- 
er, admit  him  to  divine  sonship,  and  to  all  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  redeemed,  without  even  informing  him 
that  the  wrong  must  be  terminated?  This  would  be 
to  shift  the  wrong  where  we  can  least  afford  to  place 
it — on  Christ  himself.  To  shift  the  responsibility  for 
a  wrong  is  not  to  discharge  it,  and  Saul's  crime  is  not 
a  mere  fancy  to  be  dispelled  by  some  makeshift.  It 
must  be  stopped,  or  pardon  itself  would  be  immoral. 
It  is  not  stopped.  The  reign  of  terror  continues. 
Some  decisive  word  or  act  from  Saul  must  stop  it. 
No  makeshifts,  of  whatever  nature,  can  avail  while 
the  great  crime  thunders  on.  Somebody  is  to  blame. 
Or,  if  Saul  is  wading  through  the  deep  waters  of  a 
repentance  not  yet  completed,  and  is  therefore  not  yet 
ready  for  action,  we  must  say  also  that  he  is  not  yet 
ready  for  pardon.  If  he  has  been  already  pardoned 
while  perpetuating  a  crime,  that  pardon  is  a  stain  on 
the  fair  face  of  Christianity. 

Let  us  suppose  that  an  apostle  goes  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  a  heathen  city  where  his  hearers  are  addict- 
ed to  the  vilest  immoralities.  He  preaches  to  them 
of  the  true  and  living  God;  of  his  holiness,  and  hatred 
of  sin;  of  the  resurrection ;  of  judgment;  of  Christ; 
of  heaven;  and  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
They  believe  his  message  to  be  true,  and  cry  out :  **Sir, 
what  shall  we  do?"  Suppose  the  apostle  responds 
that  he  will  tell  them  after  a  time;  but  that  they  may 
be  assured  in  the  meantime  that  they  are  pardoned, 
and  admitted  to  the  honors  of  divine  sonship  and  all 

the  blessings  of  the  redeemed.     Suppose,  then,  that 

356 


ST.   PAUL'S   CONVERSION 

some  time  afterward  he  informs  them  that  their  im- 
moralities must  be  forsaken  if  they  are  to  continue  in 
the  divine  favor,  what  should  we  say  of  thus  admit- 
ting these  heathen  to  pardon  while  in  the  practice 
of  their  sins  without  even  informing  them  that  they 
must  be  stopped?  And,  if  circumstances  made  it 
necessary  for  the  apostle  to  defer  his  answer  to  their 
question,  would  he  be  justified  in  assuring  them  that 
they  were  already  pardoned  while  their  sins  were 
being  perpetuated?  What  we  are  supposing  these 
heathen  to  do,  is  what  Saul  had  done.  He  had  come 
to  believe  in  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  and  cried  out. 
**What  shall  I  do?"  He  was  not  guilty  of  immoral- 
ities, but  he  was  guilty  of  a  crime  for  which  he  after- 
ward regarded  himself  the  chief  of  sinners;  and  his 
crime,  in  some  of  its  most  essential  features,  was  still 
being  perpetuated.  For  a  good  reason  Christ's  answer 
to  his  question  was  deferred.  But  was  he  then  par- 
doned? Is  it  any  better  to  pardon  a  man  while  he  is 
perpetuating  a  crime,  than  while  continuing  a  life  of 
immorality,  even  though  both  are  ignorantly  done? 
We  cannot  commit  Christianity  to  such  a  moral  mon- 
strosity as  this. 

One  of  the  golden  words  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  was  this:  "If  therefore  thou  art  offering  thy 
gift  at  the  altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy 
brother  hath  aught  against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift 
before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way,  first  be  reconciled 
to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift" 
(Mt.  v.  23,  24).  Had  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  anything  against  Saul  when  Christ  met  him  in 
the  way  to  Damascus?  Had  he  done  them  any  wrong? 
Had  he  done  anything  to  make  right  that  wrong?     If 

not,  can  he  now  come  and  offer  himself  upon  the  altar 

357 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

of  the  divine  service,  and  be  accepted?  Will  not  this 
passage  bid  him  go  his  way,  first  make  right  his  wrong 
with  those  still  trembling  with  terror  because  of  him, 
and  then  come  and  offer  himself  for  divine  accept- 
ance? If  a  few  unkind  words,  as  in  this  passage  (Mt. 
V.  22),  will  shut  heaven  against  the  user  until  the 
wrong  be  undone,  what  shall  be  said  of  a  crime  like 
Saul's?  Shall  Christ  ignore  a  fundamental  principle 
of  his  own  kingdom,  and  accept  this  man  in  the  midst 
of  this  great  wrong?  If  so,  we  shall  seek  in  vain  for 
any  case  to  which  this  language  of  his  great  sermon 
can  justly  apply. 

But  how  shall  Saul  put  an  end  to  this  great  wrong? 
I  answer,  by  profession.  This  will  stop  the  reign  of 
terror.  This  w  ill  remove  the  barricade  which  he  has 
built  against  the  door  of  Christ's  kingdom.  This  will 
bring  peace  where  now  there  is  terror,  joy  where  now 
there  is  sorrow.  Saul  has  asked  Christ  what  he  shall 
do.  When  the  answer  comes,  it  commands  him  to  do 
just  this  thing,  that  he  may  be  pardoned.  He  is  bap- 
tized, and  says  in  a  loud  voice,  heard  in  Damascus, 
heard  at  Jerusalem,  heard  in  Rome,  heard  in  heaven, 
heard  through  nineteen  centuries,  heard  till  the  last 
hour  of  time:  *'I  am  no  longer  against  you,  but  with 
you.  Here,  bleeding  church,  is  my  own  life.  Take 
it,  use  it,  let  it  be  quenched,  if  need  be,  for  thy  sake 
and  the  Redeemer's.  Bitter  tears  have  I  shed  over 
my  wrong  against  thee.  My  all  I  now  give  thee." — It 
is  finished.  The  wave  of  sorrow  rolling  over  the  suf- 
fering church  is  stayed.  The  black  cloud  of  persecu- 
tion has  vanished;  and  Ananias,  as  swiftly  as  feet  can 
bear  him,  speeds  to  his  mourning  and  anxious  breth- 
ren, bearing  the  glad  news  that  the  great  persecutor 

is  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  their  Redeemer.     And  then 

358 


ST.   PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

— that  mighty  voice  which  was  to  shake  all  nations 
was  heard  in  Damascus  proclaiming  the  name  of 
Christ. 

If  ever  there  was  a  great  moral  act,  Saul's  baptism 
was  one.  A  mere  empty  ceremony!  When  Abraham 
Lincoln  struck  the  chains  from  four  million  bondmen, 
was  that  a  mere  empty  ceremony?  Saul's  baptism 
struck  a  more  terrible  sorrow  from  the  church  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  ended  a  mighty  wrong  crying  to 
Heaven  for  redress.  Saul's  baptism  was  as  much  a 
moral  act  as  the  return  of  stolen  property,  and  a 
thousand  times  more  demanded. 

A  man  has  maliciously  set  fire  to  a  dwelling.  As  he 
sees  the  flames  mounting  upward,  and  wrapping  in 
their  fiery  embrace  the  sleeping  inmates,  he  relents, 
and  falls  upon  his  knees  praying  God  to  forgive  him, 
but  utters  no  cry  to  awake  the  sleeping  victims,  and 
sounds  no  alarm  to  call  others  to  the  rescue.  That 
man's  very  silence  is  murder.  Must  we  assure  him  of 
pardon?  Yes,  if  Saul  may  now  be  pardoned,  while 
delaying  to  raise  the  blockade  against  Christ's  church, 
and  stop  the  mischief  his  silence  is  hourly  working. 
Let  us  be  thankful,  in  the  name  of  morality,  that 
Acts  xxii.  16  reads  as  it  does.  Not  till  his  profession 
(lid  Saul  do  anything  to  put  an  end  to  the  perpetua- 
tion of  his  wrong,  and  not  till  then  could  he  be  rightly 
pardoned. 

%2.  The  Inner  History  of  Paul's  Conversion^  and 
its  Bearing  on  his  Doctrine. 

Having   considered  the  conversion  of  the  apostle 

Paul  objectively  and  in  a  certain  relation  to   moral 

law,  let  us  now  endeavor  to  trace  its  inner  history. 

And,  first,  let  us  ask.  Did  all  the  mental  steps  of  that 

359 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

conversion  take  place  at  the  time  of  SauFs  meeting 
with  Christ  on  the  way  to  Damascus? 

He  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  deadly  enemy  of 
Christ's  church,  and  was  engaged,  with  all  the  energy 
of  his  nature,  in  a  war  of  extermination  against  it. 
His  mission  was  self-chosen;  his  heart  was  in  it,  and 
he  felt  that  he  was  doing  God's  service.  Neither  in 
the  narratives  in  the  Acts,  nor  in  his  subsequent 
references  to  this  period  of  his  life,  are  there  indica- 
tions that  he  had  any  misgivings  regarding  his  course.* 
The  language  of  Christ  to  him,  "It  is  hard  for  thee 
to  kick  against  the  goads,"  has  been  thought  to  indi- 
cate that  he  was  resisting  the  goadings  of  conscience; 
but,  surely,  this  finds  its  best  interpretation  in  what 
had  just  happened.  Saul  had  been,  not  only  resisting 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  fighting  against  him  in  seek- 
ing to  destroy  his  kingdom;  and  now,  there  he  lies, 
stricken  down  as  by  a  thunderbolt  from  heaven.  The 
ox  which    kicked   against   the   goad   did   but  wound 


*Dr.  Lechler,  author  of  Lange^s  Commentary  on  Ads,  says: 
**So,  too,  it  is  assumed  that  doubts  had  already  arisen  in  the  soul 
of  Saul,  before  the  appearance  near  Damascus  was  seen,  and  that 
his  conscience  was  engaged  in  a  violent  struggle,  occasioned  by 
observations  which  he  had  made  in  the  cases  of  Stephen  and 
other  Christians  whom  he  had  persecuted.  But  not  the  least 
trace  of  such  a  state  of  mind  can  be  found  in  the  several  narra- 
tives; we  are,  on  the  contrary,  most  distinctly  informed  that 
Saul's  fanaticism  retained  all  its  violence,  and  that  his  views 
and  sentiments  were  by  no  means  changed;  but  that  the  appear- 
ance had  suddenly  arrested  his  steps,  taught  him  to  reflect,  and 
turned  him  from  his  course.  With  this  statement  every  remark 
will  be  found  to  harmonize,  which  Paul  himself  makes  in  his 
Epistles,  respecting  his  conversion  and  the  previous  state  of  his 
mind." — Com.,  in  loco. 

Prof.  Geo.  B.  Stevens  says:  "There  is  no  hint  of  any  hesitation 
in  his  [Saul's]  course,  or  of  any  gradually  changing  convictions 
regarding  the  claims  of  Jesus;  all  the  testimony  which  bears  upon 
the  subject  implies  the  contrary.  He  was,  to  the  end  of  his 
course  as  a  persecutor,  firm,  persevering,  and  conscientious  in 
his  efforts  to  exterminate  Christianity." — Pauline  Theology,  p.  10. 

360 


ST. 

itself.  There  lay  Saul,  helpless,  trembling,  blind. 
His  resistance  had  brought  him  to  this.  He  has  un- 
dertaken an  impossible  task.*  He  tells  us  distinctly 
(Acts  xxvi.  9)  that  he  verily  thought  with  himself 
that  he  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  was  acting  in  accordance 
with  the  convictions  of  his  conscience,  not  against 
them.  True,  he  came  afterwards  to  regard  himself  as 
the  chief  of  sinners,  but  he  did  not  think  so  now;  and 
he  afterward  explains  that  he  obtained  mercy  because 
he  did  what  he  did  ignorantly  and  in  unbelief.  Con- 
cerning his  executioners  Christ  had  prayed,  *'Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  As 
with  them,  Saul  knew  not  what  he  did;  and  this 
mitigating  circumstance  was  regarded  by  him  as  a 
ground  of  his  forgiveness.  It  seems  evident  that  all 
the  feelings  of  sympathy  for  his  victims,  and  all  the 
natural  remonstrances  of  his  nature  were  silenced  by 
the  sense  that  he  was  performing  a  religious  duty  in 
crushing  out  a  heresy  which,  from  its  rapid  growth, 
threatened  the  very  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  religion. 
It  was  not  against  conscience  that  Saul  was  striving, 
but  in  fulfillment  of  its  behests.  No  other  view  finds 
any  countenance  in  either  his  language  or  that  of  his 
historian. 

Having  now  been  successful  in  his  enterprise  in  and 
about  Jerusalem,  he  is  pursuing  the  refugees  to  dis- 
tant parts,  and  is  on  his  way  to  Damascus  to  bring  all 
Christians  who  shall  refuse  to  renounce  their  religion 
to  Jerusalem  for  punishment.  As  henears  the  city 
the  brilliant   light  from   heaven    casts   him    to    the 


*Meyer  has:  *'//?  is  for  thee  a  difficult  undertaking,  surpassing 
thy  strength,  and  not  to  be  accomplished  by  thee,  that  thou,  as 
my  persecutor,  shouldst  contend  as;ainst  my  will.''' — Covi.,  in  loco. 

361 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

ground,  and  he  sees  the  form  of  a  heavenly  visitant, 
and  hears  the  words,  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest 
thou  me?"  He  replies,  "Who  art  thou,  Lord?"  The 
answer  is,  "I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whooi  thou  per- 
secutest." He  then  says,  "What  shall  I  do.  Lord?" 
and  is  directed  to  go  on  to  Damascus,  where  it  shall  be 
told  him  of  all  things  which  were  appointed  for  him 
to  do. 

Here  are  the  facts.  Have  all  the  steps  of  Saul's 
conversion  now  taken  place?  That  he  has  one  of  the 
elements  of  faith  there  can  be  no  doubt.  He  believes 
that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  the  exalted  and  glorified 
Lord.  He  has  been  stricken  with  terror,  and  has 
received  one  sharp  sword-thrust  of  conviction,  and 
has  cried  out,  "What  shall  I  do?"  Do  these  facts 
warrant  us  in  concluding  that  he  has  not  only  believed 
the  truth,  but  repented  and  entered  into  union  with 
Christ,  appropriating  his  salvation,  and  resting  in  him 
in  the  confidence  of  an  intimate  personal  faith? 

Another  case  strikingly  similar  to  this  may  help  us 

in  deciding  this  question.     On  the  day  of  Pentecost 

the    miraculous    advent   and    manifestations   of   the 

Holy  Spirit  call  together  a  curious  multitude.     Peter 

delivers  a  sermon  explaining  the  miracle,  and  proving 

it  to  be  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy;  and  shows  from  the 

Jewish  Scriptures  that  the  things  that  had  befallen 

Jesus  were  matters  of  inspired  prediction;  and  proves, 

finally,  that  that  same  Jesus  whom  they  had  crucified 

had  been  "made  both  Lord  and  Christ."    "And  when 

they  heard  thi§,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart"  and 

cried  out,  "Brethren,  what  shall  we  do?"     Here  we 

have:   (1)  a  miracle;  (2)  its  explanation,  proving  the 

Messiahship  and  exaltation  of  Jesus;   (3)  alarm  and 

compunction  of  conscience ;  and  (4)  this  mental  pain 

362 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

resulting  in  an  earnest  inquiry  what  to  do.  What  step 
had  S:iul  taken,  when  he  uttered  these  very  words, 
which  these  Pentecostians  had  not  taken?  Does  his 
inquiry  what  to  do  imply  his  repentance?  It  must 
then  also  imply  that  of  the  Pentecostians.  Had  Saul 
changed  his  purpose?  Then  had  they  also.  Did  his 
question  imply  self-surrender?  Then  it  must  also 
have  implied  theirs,  for  they  were  equally  sincere. 
These  narratives  are  parallel;  there  is  nothing  related 
in  the  case  of  Saul  which  is  not  found  in  the  case  of 
the  Pentecostians.  They  had  both  come  to  believe  the 
same  truth,  and  their  state  of  mind  recorded  itself,  in 
both  cases,  by  precisely  the  same  question.  Is  Saul 
saved  at  this  point?  Then,  why  not  the  Pentecos- 
tians? Were  the  steps  of  conversion  completed  in 
the  case  of  Saul?  Then  why  not  with  the  Pentecos- 
tians? But  what  was  the  status  of  these  Pentecos- 
tians? Peter's  answer  informs  us:  ''Repent  ye,  and 
be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins;  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Their  conver- 
sion, it  seems,  was  not  yet  completed,  and  they  needed 
yet  to  repent.  How  can  this  be  when  they  are  already 
suffering  sorrow  and  remorse  for  their  course,  and 
are  earnestly  seeking  to  know  their  duty  that  they 
may  do  it?  What  other  mental  step  can  such  per- 
sons take?  Have  they  not  already  repented?  This 
is  a  very  important  question.  It  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  that  all  preachers  of  the  gospel  should 
understand  that  persons  who  believe  the  truth  and 
present  themselves  sincerely  with  the  question.  What 
shall  I  do?  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  having  repented. 
A  mistake   here   may  be  fatal.     To   pronounce  men 

saved  at  a  point  where  the  Word  of  God  does  not  de- 

303 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

clare  it,  is  to  take  an  awful  responsibility.  What 
mental  step,  or  steps,  remained  then  for  the  Pente- 
costians  to  take?  What  does  Peter  mean  when  he 
commands  them  to  "repent"?  Their  sorrow  and 
compunction  had  reached  the  stage  of  inquiry,  but 
had  not,  in  connection  with  known  duty,  settled  into 
a  fixed  and  definite  purpose  to  do  it.  Then,  Peter's 
sermon  had  charged  upon  them  but  one  sin,  the  re- 
jection of  Clirist;  and  it  was  this  one  sin  which  was 
before  their  minds.  They  must  repent  of  all  sins; 
and,  when  they  repent  and  are  baptized,  it  must  be, 
not  for  the  remission  of  a  sin,  but  of  '^sins^^ — all  sins. 
Peter  sets  them  at  a  new  tasli,  bids  them  ask  their 
hearts  other  questions.  Are  they  ready  to  repair,  not 
only  this  wrong,  but  all  wrongs?  Their  conversion 
must  be,  not  only  religious,  but  also  moral;  not  sim- 
ply Godward,  Christward,  but  also  manward.  They 
have  asked  what  they  shall  do  regarding  this  sin,  and 
are  ready  to  do  anything  to  make  it  right.  Are  they 
ready  to  make  all  wrongs  right — to  return  ill-gotten 
gains,  to  repair  all  injuries,  and  forsake  all  their  sins, 
some  of  which,  as  they  carry  the  searchlight  into 
their  hearts,  may  prove  to  be  very  dear  to  them? 
Repentance,  and  consequent  pardon,  is  represented 
in  the  gospel  as  dealing  with  sins,  not  sin.  An  ab- 
stract repentance  is  easy,  and  may  amount  to  little 
more  than  a  general  wish  to  do  right  when  it  costs  us 
nothing.  Repentance  must  be  for  si7is.  They  must 
be  seen  in  their  individuality.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
repentance  in  modern  conversions  is  often  only  ab- 
stract, or  at  least  religions  simply.  With  how  many 
does  it  mean  the  righting  of  all  wrongs,  the  return  of 
all  ill-gotten  gains,  and  the  giving  up  of  every  sin, 

however  cherished?  With  how  many  does  it  not  mean 

364 


ST.  Paul's  conversion 

a  mere  joining  the  church,  attending  its  services,  pay- 
ing for  its  support,  and  perhaps  a  few  other  religious 
duties?  If  such  be  repentance,  the  Pentecostians 
had  already  repented  when  they  inquired  to  know 
their  duty.  They  had  it  in  mind  to  undo  a  great  re- 
ligious sin,  and  serve  Christ  henceforth,  as  they  had 
formerly  denied  him.  Peter's  answer  set  them  to  a 
new  task.  Christianity  permits  no  mere  making  up 
with  God.  It  is  moral  as  well  as  religious,  and  con- 
version is  man  ward  as  well  as  God  ward. 

Such  was  Peter's  treatment  of  the  case  of  the  Pen- 
tecostians. Had  he  been  bidden  to  answer  Saul's 
question,  *'What  shall  I  do?"  at  the  moment  when  it 
was  asked,  what  would  have  been  his  answer?  Do 
the  facts  warrant  us  in  concluding  that  it  would  have 
been  different  from  that  which  he  gave  to  the  Pente- 
costians? I  believe  they  do  not  The  steps  already 
taken  in  both  cases  are  precisely  parallel,  and  the 
question  asked  in  each  case  is  the  same.  There  is  no 
reason  to  think  Peter  would  have  given  Saul  a  differ- 
ent answer. 

In  saying  this,  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that 
Saul's  previous  life  had  been  exceptionally  conscien- 
tious. If  we  may  suppose  the  struggle  recorded  in 
the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans  to  have  been  drawn 
from  his  own  experience,  he  had  earnestly  sought  to 
master  sin,  and  overcome  its  tendencies  in  his  heart. 
Repentance,  therefore,  with  him  cannot  mean  just 
what  it  does  for  most  men.  He  had  not  lived  a  life 
of  either  direct  rebellion  against  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, or,  what  is  more  common,  of  indifference 
regarding  duty.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that,  if 
repentance  is  for  sins — one's  individual  sins — it  can 

hardly  be  the  same  thing  for  any  two  persons.     The 

365 


MORAL.   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

repentances  of  the  Pentecostians  must  have  swept 
over  vastly  different  areas;  and  can  we  suppose  that 
in  that  vast  multitude  who  had  made  long  pilgrim- 
ages from  fifteen  different  countries  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  worshiping  God  in  his  holy  place,  and  in  his 
appointed  way,  there  were  none  whose  lives  were  con- 
scientious, and  who  had  sincerely  and  earnestly  tried 
to  do  right?  Yet  Peter's  language  to  them  was  not 
general  only,  but  particular:  "Repent  3'e,  and  be  bap- 
tized EVERY  ONE  OF  YOU."  Would  hc  have  said  less 
to  Saul,  the  persecutor,  whose  wrong  against  Christ 
was  greater  than  that  probably  of  any  one  who  stood 
in  Peter's  audience?  And  let  it  be  distinctly  remem- 
bered that  the  sincere  cry,  "What  shall  I  do?"  is  no 
sufficient  sign  of  repentance,  or  that  the  person  who 
utters  it  has  reached  the  point  where  he  may  be 
saved.  The  case  of  Pentecost  decides  this  matter 
beyond  doubt. 

But  to  return  to  the  question  of  Saul's  repentance: 
Because  his  former  life  had  been  exceptionally  con- 
scientious are  we  warranted  in  concluding  that  little 
or  no  repentance  was  needed  in  his  case,  save  for  the 
one  wrong  of  persecuting  the  church?  Is  he  already 
Christian  at  heart,  needing  only  the  correction  of  an 
error  of  the  understanding  to  make  him  also  one  in 
conduct?  To  this  we  must  answer  with  emphasis, 
No.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  there  is  no  man  who, 
under  the  strong  light  of  a  quickened  conscience,  will 
not  find  many  sins  of  which  he  needs  to  repent,  we 
must  say  positively  that  conscientiousness  and  Chris- 
tianity are  not  synonymous  terms. 

Saul  had  a  long  journey  to  make  in  heart  before  he 

reached  the   Sermon  on  the  Mount.     His  spirit  and 

that  of  the  true  Christian  were  vastly  different;   nay, 

366 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

in  some  most  important  respects,  opposite.  He  hated 
with  an  intense  hatred  many  of  his  fellowmen.  He 
did  not  persecute  as  a  father  punishes  his  child — with 
pain  when  he  smites.  His  task  was  one  to  which  his 
feelings  prompted  him.  He  was  "exceedingly  mad 
against"  the  Christians,  and  went  forth  breathing 
out,  in  his  fury,  ** threatening  and  slaughter"  against 
his  victims.  A  man  may  be  conscientious  and  yet 
be  far  from  right  at  heart.*  Under  the  full  sense  of 
conviction,  the  idolater  might  feel  that  he  was  doing 
right,  while  abandoning  himself  to  the  control  of  the 
basest  passions  and  the  perpetration  of  the  grossest 
wrongs;  yet  who  would  say  that  his  state  of  heart 
was  that  of  the  Christian,  and  that  he  needed  not  to 
be  converted,  even  in  heart,  before  he  could  become 
a  Christian.  Saul  has  a  long  journey  to  make  before 
he  reaches  the  Christian  state  of  mind. 

He  has  now,  in  the  midst  of  his  unholy  undertak- 
ing, been  stricken  to  the  earth,  seen  a  glorious  form, 
and  heard  terrible  words  from  heaven.  Before  these 
words  are  spoken,  he  is  already  terror-stricken. 
These  then  come  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  him.  He 
responds  to  them  almost  automatically — and  in  a  few 
seconds  all  is  over.  Say  Conybeare  and  Howson: 
"The  whole  scene  was  evidently  one  of  the  utmost 
confusion,  and  the  accounts  are  such  as  to  express,  in 
the  most  striking  manner,  the  bewilderment  and 
alarm  of  the  travellers."  Two  tremendous  and  al- 
most stunning  blows  had  been  struck  in  quick  succes- 
sion— the  striking  down  by   the  flash   from  heaven. 


*Neander  says  that  Saul's  "love  for  the  true  and  the  good,  dis- 
cernable  even  through  his  errors,"  was  "repressed  by  the  power 
of  his  passions  and  prejudices." — Planting  and  Training  of  the 
Christian  Churchy  p.  63. 

367 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

and  the  menacing  words  whose  meaning  fell  like  a 
thunderbolt  upon  Saul.  What  he  did  or  thought  was 
under  the  most  intense  excitement  and  agitation  of 
mind — under  the  influence  of  well-nigh  paralyzing 
terror.  Few  men,  however  wicked,  but  would  have 
made  some  such  responses  as  he  made,*  and,  like 
him,  suffered  themselves  to  be  led,  unmanned  and 
helpless,  whither  the  voice  directed. 

There  was  in  all  this  ample  opportunity  for  stamp- 
ing on  the  perception  certain  indelible  impressions 
which  were  destined  to  revolutionize  the  entire  after 
life;  but  there  was  in  this  moment,  filled  with  the 
utmost  terror  and  excitement,  no  opportunity  for  the 
action  of  the  deliberative  understanding.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  calculated  rather  to  overwhelm  this, 
than  to  call  it  forth.  There  was,  at  most,  only  time 
for  one  quick  undeliberated  act  or  word.  How  worth- 
less are  those  modern  conversions  made  in  haste,  and 
under  stress  of  strong  and  unpoising  excitement,  is 
well  known;  but  they  are  deliberation  itself  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  Saul,  if  his  took  place  in  its  en- 
tirety at  this  distracting  moment.  It  was  not  Saul's 
deepest  self  which  made  answer  then,  with  shattered 
nerves,  and  in  a  whirl  of  well-nigh  bewildering  ex- 
citement and  confusion.  But  Christ  wants  no  de- 
cision to  give  oneself  to  him  in  a  lifelong  service, 
in  a  moment  of  almost  paralyzing  terror,  without 
opportunity  for  fully  realizing  the  situation.  He  re- 
quires that  those  who  come  to  him  shall  first  "count 
the  cost."     In  Lk.  xiv.  26,  sg.,  he  says:    "If  any  man 


*  The  last  sentence  in  verse  5  (Acts  ix.)  and  Saul's  language  in 
verse  6,  as  found  in  the  Authorized  Version,  are  not  found  in  the 
best  manuscripts,  and  are  omitted  from  the  Revised  Version. 
Saul's  language  was  simply,  "What  shall  I  do,  Ivord?"  (Acts 
xxii.  10). 

368 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

Cometh  unto  me,  and  hatetli  not  his  own  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and 
sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  my 
disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  own  cross, 
and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple.  For 
which  of  you,  desiring  to  build  a  tower,  doth  not  first 
sit  down  and  count  the  cost,  whether  he  have  where- 
with to  complete  it?  Lest  haply,  when  he  hath  laid 
the  foundation,  and  is  not  able  to  finish,  all  that  be- 
hold him  begin  to  mock  him,  saying.  This  man  began 
to  build,  and  was  not  able  to  finish.  Or  what  king, 
as  he  goeth  to  encounter  another  king  in  war,  will  not 
sit  down  first  and  take  counsel  whether  he  is  able 
with  ten  thousand  to  meet  him  that  cometh  against 
him  with  twenty  thousand?  Or  else,  while  the  other 
is  a  great  way  off,  he  sendeth  an  ambassage,  and 
asketh  conditions  of  peace.  So  therefore  whosoever 
he  be  of  you  that  renounceth  not  all  that  he  hath,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple."  This  requirement,  so  pos- 
itively enjoined  by  Christ,  Saul  has  not  yet  complied 
with.  Shall  we  suppose  him  to  have  committed  the 
very  folly  which  Christ  here  so  strongly  condemns? 
He  did  so,  if,  without  time  to  consider,  he  made  his 
final  surrender  to  Christ  at  this  exciting  moment. 
There  are  many  questions  for  Saul  yet  to  ask  and 
answer  in  his  own  heart.  Until  that  moment  he  had 
regarded  Jesus  and  his  disciples  with  a  contemptuous 
and  deadly  hatred.  Can  he  now  give  his  all  to  them? 
He  is  an  educated  young  man  of  bright  promise  and, 
perhaps,  already  a  member  of  the  highest  court  of 
the  nation,  the  Sanhedrim.  Can  he  cast  in  his  lot 
with  an  uncultured  and  despised  band,  whose  leader 
has  suffered  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  as  a  male- 
factor? Then,  there  is  trouble  before  this  people; 
21  369 


MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS  OF  BAPTISM 

and  not  unlikel}^  and  as  the  event  proved,  he  will  be 
called  to  suffer  martyrdom  for  this  cause.  Is  he  ready 
forthis?  Is  he  ready  to  sufferthe  loss  of  all  things,  and 
die  a  perpetual  death  of  suffering  for  this  despised 
cause?  These  and  many  other  questions  are  yet  to  be 
asked  and  answered.  If  it  be  said  that  from  what  we 
know  of  the  man  there  can  be  no  doubt  what  the  an- 
swers will  be,  this  is  admitted ;  but  Christ  demands  that 
the  questions  shall  first  be  asked  and  answered  by  the 
heart,  before  one  can  be  his  disciple.  When  the 
Philippian  jailor  fell  prostrate  before  Paul  and  Silas, 
and  asked  them  what  he  must  do  to  be  saved,  there 
could  be  no  doubt,  from  the  conditions  of  the  case, 
that  he  would  both  believe  what  they  said  and  do 
what  they  commanded;  but  as  yet  he  had  done 
neither,  and  was  not  yet  saved.  So  of  Saul  in  this 
case:  there  is  a  task  before  him  which  he  is  sure  to 
perform;  but  it  is  not  yet  performed,  and  he  is  not 
yet  ready  to  make  snch  a  surrender  of  his  life  to 
Christ  as  Christ  demands.  Christ  requires  that,  in 
fall  view  of  all  that  is  involved,  men  shall  commit 
themselves  unreservedly  to  him.  This  may  often  be 
quickly  done,  but  there  is  no  case  of  conversion  in 
the  apostolic  age  in  which  there  was  not  time  to  con- 
sider. Whether  this  be  long  or  short,  it  should  be 
long  enough  to  ena^ble  the  sinner  to  reach  a  deliberate 
decision  in  view  of  all  that  is  involved.  Such  a  decis- 
ion requires  a  life-review;  and  with  the  man  who 
already  believes  himself  ready  to  follow  unreservedly 
the  leadings  of  duty,  such  a  survey  may  reveal  to  him, 
as  Christ's  words  did  to  the  rich  young  man,  that 
which  will  cause  him  to  go  away  sorrowful.  Repent- 
ance is  often  a  series  of  many  battles,  the  asking  of 

the  heart  many  questions.      It  is  (while  it  is    much 

370 


ST.    PAUI/S    CONVERSION 

more)  also  a  counting  of  the  cost.  It  involves  think- 
ing, consideration.  All  this  was  impossible  with  Saul 
in  that  single  moment  of  terror  and  excitement.  He 
needs  to  be  alone  with  his  thoughts — to  reconstruct 
his  mental  life — to  realize  the  full  import  of  this 
almost  paralyzing  disclosure.  And  precisely  this 
Christ  provides  for  him. 

The  divine  will  is  manifested  not  less  by  what  God 
does  than  by  what  he  says.  In  answer  to  Saul's  ques- 
tion Christ  does  not  tell  him  to  repent,  but  sends  him 
to  Damascus,  and  leaves  him  there  with  his  thoughts 
for  three  days.  We  know  of  no  reason  why,  from 
among  the  disciples  at  Damascus,  one  might  not  have 
been  ready  to  meet  Saul  on  his  arrival,  or  soon  after; 
but  days  seem  to  have  elapsed  before  any  steps  were 
taken  to  send  him  an  instructor.  This  fact  sliould 
not  be  overlooked  in  any  estimate  which  we  may  form 
of  Saul's  condition.*     In  Christ's  view,  he  evidently 


*Neander  says  :  "It  might  be  expected  that  Paul  could  not  at 
once,  after  such  an  impression,  enter  upon  a  new  course  of  action. 
Everything  which  had  hitherto  been  the  motive  and  aim  of  his 
conduct,  now  seemed  as  nothing.  Sorrow  must  have  been  the 
predominant  feeling  of  his  crushed  spirit.  He  could  not  instan- 
taneously recover  from  so  overwhelming  an  impression,  which 
gave  a  new  direction  to  his  whole  being.  He  was  reduced  to  a 
state  of  mental  and  bodily  weakness,  from  which  he  could  not 
restore  himself.  He  passed  three  days  without  food.  This  was 
for  him  the  point  of  transition  from  death  to  a  new  life;  and 
nothing  can  so  vividly  express  his  feelings  at  this  awful  crisis 
as  the  exclamation  which  he  himself,  reverting  to  his  earlier 
state,  puts  in  the  lips  of  the  man  who,  with  the  deepest  con- 
sciousness of  inward  slavery  under  the  violated  law,  and  with 
earnest  aspirations  after  freedom,  pours  forth  his  whole  heart  in 
the  words,  *0  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me?'" 
— Planting  and  Training,  Ryland^s  Edition,  p.  63.  This  is  not 
the  language  of  a  saved  man,  nor  oi  faith.  It  would  be  despair, 
but  for  an  expected  message  yet  to  come. 

Dr.  I^echler  in  Range's  Com.  speaks  in  a  similar  manner,  de- 
claring that,  at  the  time  of  the  vision  on  the  Damascus  road, 
Saul's  "conversion  originally  began,"  and  afterwards  "advances 
and  is  completed." — Coin.,  in  loco.     Dr.   Gerok,  author  of  the 

371 


MORAL    AND    SPIIIITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

was  not  ready  to  receive  the  message  he  had  in  store 
for  him.  He  might  indeed  have  been  told  to  repent; 
but  what  need  of  such  a  command,  when  he  was  left 
alone  for  three  days  quivering  under  the  terrible  blow 
which  had  been  struck.  No  command  was  needed 
for  that  which  was  bound  to  take  phice  with  awful 
certainty.  But  it  was  a  part  of  the  divine  purpose  in 
Saul's  case,  that  he  be  left  alone  for  a  time,  that  what 
he  had  seen  and  heard  might  have  opportunity  to  do 
its  work. 

But,  before  we  follow  him  into  his  lonely  and  dark 
vigil,  let  us  pause  to  note  another  fact  relating  to  the 
scene  on  the  Damascus  road.  On  that  occasion  there 
was  not  one  word  said  about  his  personal  salvation. 
No  doubt  Saul's  question  had  reference  to  that,  but 
it  was  not  answered.  From  the  account  in  Acts  xxvi. 
16-18,  it  might  at  first  seem  that  Christ  had  at  that 
time  given  Saul  his  commission  as  an  apostle,  but  the 
tenor  of  the  other  narratives  (Acts  ix.  and  xxii.) 
makes  this  extremely  doubtful.  Many  of  the  ablest 
scholars  think  that  Paul  here,  in  his  speech  before 
Agrippa,  combines  what  was  spoken  to  him  by  Ana- 
nias in  chapter  xxii.  14,  15,  with  what  had  previously 
been  spoken  to  him  directly  by  Christ.  This  is  the 
view  of  Meyer,  of  Dr.  Lechler  in  Lange's  (Joinmen- 
fary^  and  of  Alford,  who  says:  "I  do  not  see,  with 
Stier,  the  necessity  of  maintaining  that  all  these 
words  were  actually  spoken  to  him  at  some  time  by  the. 
Lord.     The   message  delivered   by  Ananias  certainly 

Homiletical  Department  of  the  same  commentar}^  says:  "God 
deemed  it  wise  to  wait,  in  the  case  of  Paul,  in  order  to  deliver 
him  effectually  from  his  Pharisaical  pride  and  his  deep-rooted 
hatred  of  the  cross  of  Christ." — Com.,  in  loco.  Pressens^  says: 
"It  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  Saul's  conversion 
was  completed  on  the  road  to  Damascus." — Early  Years  of 
Christianity y  Apostolic  Era,  p.  109. 

372 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

furnished  some  of  them,"  etc.*  Philip  Schaff  sajs: 
*'Tn  [Acts]  xxvi.  16-18,  Jesus  himself  reveals  to  Paul 
his  call  to  be  au  apostle,  whereas  in  both  the  other 
accounts  this  is  done  through  Ananias.  This  is  ex- 
plained by  considering  that  Paul  before  Agrippa  con- 
denses his  story  for  the  sake  of  brevity.  And  in  fact 
the  first  representation  is  by  no  means  untrue,  since 
Ananias  acted  under  commission  from  the  Lord,  and 
Paul,  while  3'et  on  his  way,  was  referred  to  this  trans- 
action (ix.  6)."  t  There  are,  however,  some  who 
think  the  words  recorded  in  the  twentj-sixth  chapter 
were  spoken  at  the  time  of  Christ's  personal  appear- 
ance to  Saul  on  the  way  to  Damascus,  while  still 
others  are  in  doubt  whether  they  were  uttered  then 
or  on  a  later  occasion.  In  this  latter  class  may  be 
numbered  Conybeare  and  Howson  and  Dr.  Hackett. 
While  regarding  either  interpretation  as  possible.  Dr. 
Hackett  says:  "The  message  which  Ananias  deliv- 
ered to  Saul  (intimated  here  in  v.  15,  [ch.  ix.]  but  re- 
corded more  fully  in  xxii.  14-16)  was  a  message  from 
Christ;  and  as  the  apostle  makes  no  mention  of  Ana- 
nias in  xxvi.  16  sg.,  it  is  very  possil^le  that  he  has 
there,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  passed  over  the  inter- 
mediate agency,  and  referred  the  words  directly  to 
Christ,  which  Christ  communicated  to  him  through 
Ananias.  This  would  be  merely  applying  the  com- 
mon maxim.  Quod  quis  per  aliumfacit,  id  ipse  fecisse 
putanfu7\"l  Farrar  regards  it  as  doubtful  whether 
this  communication  was  made  to  Saul  at  this  time,  or 


*  Lange's  Com.,  in  loco. 

t  History  of  Apostolic  Church,  p.  232. 

JTliis  freedom  Christ  himself  makes  use  of  when  he  declares 
God  to  have  said  (Mt.  xix.  4,  5)  what  was  spoken  only  by  Adam 
(Gen.  ii.  24)  with,  the  divine  approval. 

373 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

later,  and  perhaps  partly  through  his  own  reflection.* 
Prof.  Stevens  regards  Paul's  call  to  the  apostleship 
as  having  been  conveyed  through  Ananias  (Acts  xxii. 
15). t  So,  also,  Prof.  Briggs.j  That  this  view,  which 
represents  the  trend  of  modern  scholarship,  is  the 
correct  one,  there  can  be  little  doubt. 

In  view  of  this,  it  is  evident  that  we  cannot  count 
on  Saul's  having  received  any  call  to  the  apostleship 
while  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  which,  had  it  taken 
place,  would  of  course  have  implied  that  personal  sal- 
vation awaited  him,  although  neither  the  time  nor  the 
conditions  were  mentioned.  All  that  we  can  depend 
upon  is,  that  in  response  to  Saul's  question,  '*What 
shall  I  do?"  he  is  bidden  to  go  to  Damascus,  and 
there  it  shall  be  told  him.  What  the  nature  of  this 
communication  will  be,  he  has  no  means  of  knowing. 
There  is  nothing  on  which  he  can  rely  further  than 
that  he  is  to  receive  a  message  revealing  to  him  some 
duty.  True,  the  implication  is  that  Christ  vvill  not 
cast  him  off,  but  even  this  is  not  said.  Will  he  be 
admitted  to  all  the  exalted  privileges  and  blessings  of 
the  Christian  estate?  He  does  not  know.  His  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity  is  very  imperfect,  and  doubtless 
his  impressions  regarding  it  are  in  many  respects  in- 
correct. What  will  be  done  with  such  a  case  as  his? 
All  this  is  matter  of  conjecture  and  uncertainty. 
Then  there  is  playing  over  this  uncertainty  a  power- 
ful influence  making  for  the  darker  view.  The  por- 
tentous clouds  of  a  condemning  conscience  darken 
his  sky.  To  all  the  more  hopeful  interpretations  of 
the  situation,  the  enormity   of  his  sin  rises  up   and 

*Farrar's  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  p.  112. 
t  Theology  of  the  New   Testament.,  p.  330.     Compare  also  his 
Pauline  Theology,  p.  22. 

X  The  Messiahship  of  the  Gospels,  p.  123. 

374 


ST.  Paul's  conversion 

says,  ITo,  impossible!  Fear  and  remorse  often  work 
sad  havoc  with  probabilities.  Some  years  ago,  a 
prominent  business  man  was  sentenced  for  a  term  of 
ten  years  to  Auburn  prison  for  embezzlement.  The 
indictment  contained  three  counts,  and  the  sentence 
embraced  them  all.  On  the  way  to  prison  the  con- 
demned man  asked  the  sheriff  how  long  his  term  was 
to  be.  **Ten  years,"  replied  the  sheriff.  *'No,"  said 
the  mental  sufferer,  * 'I  guess  not;  there  were  three  in- 
dictments and  it  must  be  thirty  years."  No  one  else 
of  the  millions  who  read  the  account  of  that  trial 
made  such  a  mistake.  Yet  this  man  possessed  a  clear 
and  shrewd  mind— was  president  of  a  great  banking 
establishment.  It  was  the  mistake  of  despair.  How 
often  in  the  history  of  modern  evangelism  has  the 
awakened  sinner,  under  the  pangs  of  a  condemning 
conscience,  been  led  to  painful  misgivings  regarding 
the  possibility  of  his  salvation!  No  darker  cloud 
ever  lifted  itself  against  hope  than  the  blood-black 
vision  of  Saul's  sin.  What  is  in  store  for  him?  He 
does  not  know;  and  on  this  blank  canvas  conscience 
is  painting  a  thousand  disquieting  visions.  The  sit- 
uation is  one,  not  for  an  assured  and  serene  trust,  but 
for  painful  suspense.  Christ  has  said  enough  to  shut 
off  despair,  but  not  enough  to  make  possible  Chris- 
tian trust.  For  Saul  to  receive  Christ  as  his  own  per- 
sonal Savior,  resting  in  him  as  saved,  and  entering 
into  blessed  union  with  him  at  this  time,  were  an  im- 
possibility. No  man  can  accept,  even  mentally,  what 
has. not  been  offered,  and  Saul  has  received  no  proffer 
of  salvation.  Whatever  may  have  been  Saul's  state 
of  mind,  it  is  certain  that  the  appropriating,  union- 
forming  faith  that  is  reckoned  for  rigliteousness  was 

not  possible  to  him  at  this  time,  and  must  remain  im- 

375 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

possible  until  the  message  comes  offering  him  salva- 
tion and  specifying  the  conditions  on  which  it  is  to  be 
received.  That  salvation  is  not  offered  till  he  is 
bidden  to  receive  it  in  baptism.  It  was  a  psycholog- 
ical impossibility  that  he  should  appropriate  it,  even 
mentally,  before  that  time.  The  conditions  of  the 
situation  shut  off  this  spiritual  act  before  Saul's  bap- 
tism, and  place  it  in  that  act,  and  nowhere  else.  It 
was  as  impossible  for  Saul  to  exercise  a  personal, 
possessive  trust  at  the  time  of  his  meeting  with 
Christ  in  the  way  to  Damascus,  or  during  the  subse- 
quent three  days  of  mourning,  as  it  would  have  been 
for  him  to  transform  himself  into  an  angel.  The  great 
appropriative  spiritual  act — justifying  faith — took 
place  in  Saul's  case  in  his  baptism,  and  there,  with 
perfect  fitness,  the  remission  of  his  sins  is  placed. 

This,  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt,  was  the  true 
state  of  the  case ;  but  as  there  have  been  some  able 
expositors  who  inclined  to  the  view  that  Paul's  call 
to  the  apostleship  took  place  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
meeting  with  him  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  it  may  be 
well  to  inquire  what  bearing  that  view  would  have  on 
the  question  we  are  considering.  Men  are  not  wont 
to  appoint,  or  even  to  decide  on  the  appointment  of, 
any  one  to  a  position,  until  they  are  satisfied  of  his 
fitness  for  it,  and  the  decision  to  appoint,  no  less  than 
the  appointment  itself,  argues  their  belief  in  that  fit- 
ness. To  a  certain  extent  this  must  have  bee  a  true 
of  Christ  in  his  proposed  appointment  of  Saul  to  the 
apostleship. 

He    beheld    in    him     certain    traits,    mental    and 

moral,   which   would  fit   him   eminently    for  such  a 

service;  but  does  this  extend  so  far  as  to  im[)ly  Saul's 

conversion,  and  his  acceptance  into  the  divine  fellow- 

376 


ST.   PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

ship  as  accomplished  facts  at  that  time?  Certainly 
no  one  is  fitted  for  the  apostleship  who  is  not  con- 
verted, and  if  converted,  then  surely,  pardoned  and 
admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  the  redeemed.  Would 
Saul's  call  to  the  apostleship,  then,  at  this  time  imply 
all  this?  If  so,  it  would  seem  also  to  imply  much 
more;  for  Christ  determined  to  appoint  him  to  the 
apostleship,  and  appeared  unto  him  for  that  purpose, 
while  Saul  was  the  deadly  enemy  of  his  cause  and  in 
the  midst  of  his  fiery  career  as  a  persecutor  of  his 
people.  Certainly  Saul  was  not  then  fitted  for  the 
apostleship  in  the  sense  of  being  either  converted  or 
pardoned.  Christ's  whole  action  in  this  matter  was 
prospective  and  founded  on  the  divine  prescience. 
He  determined  to  appoint  Saul  as  his  apostle,  and 
wejit  about  doing  so  while  Saul  was  yet  wholly  unfitted 
for  the  office,  simply  in  view  of  his  foreseen  fitness 
at  some  future  time.  And  this  is  all  that  Christ's 
action  implies.  His  determination  to  appoint  Saul 
to  the  apostleship  was  not  an  afterthought  arising 
from  some  perceived  present  fitness,  after  the  miracle 
had  taken  place,  but  a  purpose  which  had  existed, 
and  whose  execution  was  undertaken,  while  Saul  was 
still  a  persecutor. 

If  the  call  to  the  apostleship  necessarily  carried 
within  itself  the  assurance  that  Saul  was  already  par- 
doned and  saved,  it  would  be  but  natural  that,  either 
then  or  as  soon  as  his  mind  was  prepared  to  take  the 
step,  he  should  reach  forth  in  heart  to  grasp  and  joy- 
fully appropriate  the  proffered  blessing.  Thus  the 
appropriative  spiritual  act — appropriative  faith — 
would  take   place   before   his   baptism.     But,  as  we 

have  seen,  Christ's  language  to  Saul  carries  no  such 

377 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

implication.  His  purpose  and  his  action  were 
founded  on  foresight,  not  on  fact. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  also,  that  if  Saul  was  par- 
doned and  admitted  to  the  divine  fellowship  at  that 
time,  it  involved  a  breach  of  the  divine  law  of  ac- 
ceptance under  both  dispensations.  Christ  taught 
that  even  a  trivial  wrong  to  our  fellows  will  bar  the 
way  to  all  acceptable  service  of  God,  until  the  wrong 
has  been  made  right ;  and  here  a  case  of  most  aggra- 
vated wrong  against  Christ's  own  people  would  have 
to  be  completely  ignored,  while  the  criminal  and 
murderer  is  received  into  the  fullest  divine  fellow- 
ship. If  this  constitutional  law  of  Christ's  kingdom 
is  to  be  violated  here,  it  is  difficult,  as  before  said,  to 
see  how  it  can  be  made  to  apply  to  any  case  whatever. 
We  are  reduced  to  the  absurd  conclusion  that,  while 
trivial  wrongs  bar  the  door  to  the  divine  fellowship, 
great  wrongs  and  heinous  crimes,  unadjusted,  form 
no  such  bar. 

Saul  very  well  understood,  as  did  all  the  Jewish 
people,  that  wrongs  committed  against  others  must 
be  adjusted  before  an  offering  to  God  could  be  ac- 
cepted, or  the  divine  pardon  granted.  This  was 
clearly  enjoined  in  the  Jewish  law,  and  so  far  as 
Saul  had  become  acquainted  with  the  Christians,  he 
must  have  observed  the  same  principle  obtaining  in 
Christ's  kingdom,  for  Christ  had  reaffirmed  the  law 
with  even  extended  application.  Saul  had  been 
guilty  of  most  heinous  wrongs  against  many  of 
Christ's  own  people,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  divine 
dealings  would  forbid  any  expectation  of  pardon  at 
this  time.  Even  his  question,  "What  shall  I  do?" 
assumes  that  something  remains  for  him  to  do.     He 

expects  no  pardon  now,  and  he  will  be  as  far  as  pos- 

378 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

sible  from  putting  that  construction  on  the  language 
of  Christ  which  commends  itself  to  some  who,  in 
large  part,  overlook  the  principle  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment which  was  so  familiar  to  him. 

If  we  are  to  suppose  that  the  language  recorded  in 
Acts  xxvi.  16-18  was  spoken  to  Saul  directly  by  Christ 
at  the  time  of  his  appearance  to  him  in  the  way  to 
Damascus,  we  are,  of  course,  entitled  to  draw  all 
legitimate  conclusions  from  it;  but  none  of  these  in- 
ferences must  cancel  any  part  of  the  other  two  nar- 
ratives found  in  Acts  ix".  and  xxii.  These  must  be 
allowed  their  full  force.  How  do  the  statements  of 
these  accounts  affect  the  situation? 

When  Saul  learned  that  his  heavenly  visitant  was 
none  other  than  the  Jesus  whom  he  was  persecuting, 
he  cried  out,  "AVhat  shall  I  do?"  (Acts  xxii.  10). 
This  question  had  reference  to  one  thing  only — his 
great  sin.  It  was  the  awful  situation  in  which  he 
found  himself  that  prompted  the  question,  and  it  had 
no  other  reference.  This  question  was  answered 
directly  by  Jesus  by  instructing  him  to  go  to  Damas- 
cus for  information.  Saul,  then,  understands  that 
there  is  something  for  him  to  do  which  Christ  does 
not  disclose  to  him  at  this  interview,  and  that  that 
something  has  relation  to  his  great  sin.  This  matter, 
then,  he  realizes,  is  not  disposed  of.  Christ  says  to 
him  nothing  about  remission  of  sins  or  salvation,  and 
as  Saul's  question  had  had  reference  to  that,  what 
Christ  has  to  say  to  him  on  this  subject  he  will  under- 
stand to  be  reserved  for  the  future  communication. 
This  will  accord  perfectly  with  his  own  knowledge  of 
the  method  of  the  divine  dealing,  and  he  will  expect 
no  pardon  till  he  receives  the  promised  message  and 

complies  with  its  conditions.     The  spiritual  step  of 

379 


MORAL  AND   SPIPtlTUAL  ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

appropriating  Christ's  salvation  and  entering  into 
union  with  him  would  therefore  not  be  possible  at 
this  time,  even  though  he  were  prepared  in  naind  to 
take  it.* 

What  follows  during  the  next  three  days  is  in  per- 
fect accord  with  this  view  of  the  case.  Saul  takes 
neither  food  nor  drink  during  this  time.  It  is  gener- 
ally conceded  that  his  fast  was  a  result  of  his  mental 
suffering  in  view  of  his  sin.  True,  his  blindness 
would  be  a  source  of  sorrow,  but  to  suppose  the  fast 
to  be  due  to  that  cause  would  be  to  misjudge  entirely 
his  moral  nature,  and  place  that  foremost  which  was 
secondary  with  him.  The  subsequent  vision  which 
assured  him  of  the  healing  of  his  blindnes,  moreover, 
does  not  terminate  his  fast,  but  the  communication 
regarding  the  remission  of  his  sins  (Acts  xxii.  16), 
and   his   compliance    therewith,   immediately  brings 


*Both  Pressens^  and  Albert  Barnes  take  the  view  that  Saul 
received  his  call  to  the  apostleship  directly  from  the  lips  of  Jesus 
while  on  the  way  to  Damascus,  but  they  do  not  therefore  draw 
the  conclusion  that  Saul's  conversion  was  completed  at  that  time, 
nor  that  his  sins  had  been  remitted.  Pressens^  says:  '*It  would 
be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  Saul's  conversion  was  com- 
pleted on  the  road  to  Damascus,  His  pride  was  broken;  his 
doubts  were  scattered;  but  he  did  not  at  once  rise  from  that  tre- 
mendous blow  which  had  severed  his  life  in  two.  He  then,  in- 
deed, received  his  calling  as  an  apostle  (Acts  xxvi.  16-18),  but  he 
had  not  then  any  conception  of  its  greatness  or  of  its  cost."  He 
further  says  that  during  the  three  days  of  fasting  and  sorrow, 
*'he  [Saul]  experienced  all  the  depths  of  a  true  repentance." — 
Early  Years  of  Christianity,  Apostolic  Era,  p.  109.  What 
Pressensd  regards  as  lacking,  at  that  time,  to  the  completion  of 
Saul's  conversion,  was  nothing  less  than  his  repentance. 

In  assigning  the  reason  for  Saul's  fasting,  Albert  Barnes  says: 
"We  must  remember  also  that  Paul  had  yet  no  assurance  of  for- 
giveness. He  was  arrested,  alarmed,  convinced  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiah,  and  humbled,  but  he  had  no  comfort.  He  was 
brought  to  tlie  dust,  and  left  to  three  painful  days  of  darkness 
and  suspense,  before  it  was  told  him  what  he  was  to  do.  In  this 
painful  and  perplexing  state,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  ab- 
stain from  food." — Barnes'  Notes,  Acts  ix.  9. 

380 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

relief  of  mind  and  a  breaking  of  his  fast  (ix.  19). 
The  turning  point  from  Saul's  overwhelming  sorrow 
and  suspense  to  relief  and  peace  of  mind  was  his 
baptism.  But  certainly  neither  water  nor  any  merely 
ceremonial  act  had  power  to  work  such  a  change. 
The  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Saul 
did  in  his  baptism  what,  from  the  circumstances  of 
the  case,  had  been  impossible  to  him  before — joyfully 
appropriated  Christ's  salvation  and  entered  into 
blessed  fellowship  with  him.  Why  the  conditions 
making  this  appropriative,  possessive  faith  possible 
were  withheld  until  this  time,  we  must  suppose  to  be 
due  to  the  fact  that  he  w^as  not  earlier  prepared  for  it. 
Returning  from  this  digression,  let  us  proceed  in 
our  examination  of  Saul's  spiritual  history.  He 
proceeds  to  Damascus,  enters  the  house  of  one 
Judas,  and  is  alone  w^ith  his  sin.  The  light  of  day  is 
shut  out,  and  he  gazes  upon  but  one  vision — his  sin. 
He  has  been  fighting  against  God  and  persecuting  the 
church  of  his  anointed.  In  the  silence  he  hears  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  and  beholds  again  in  awful 
vividness  the  scenes  of  his  former  persecutions.  As 
he  realizes  some  new  aspect  of  his  crime,  his  sin  rolls 
in  upon  him  like  a  mountain  wave;  he  shudders  and  is 
borne  to  the  earth.  All  thoughts  of  personal  safety 
flee,  and  he  faces  in  anguish  but  one  awful  fact — his 
sin.  Willingly  would  he  bare  his  breast  to  the  div^ine 
thunderbolt,  and  a  sentence  of  doom  would  be  almost 
a  relief.  How  often  have  criminals  yielded  up  their 
safe-kept  secret  that  they  might  suffer  the  penalty  of 
their  crime,  finding  even  in  this  some  relief  for  a 
wrong  they  could  never  undo.  The  agitation  and 
terror  of  the  recent  vision  are  now  gone,  and  Saul  is 
alone  with — sin.     It  is  a  storm  of  conscience.     It  is 

381 


MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF  BAPTISM 

deep,  dark,  awful  repentance.  His  heart  is  breaking. 
It  ought  to  break;  he  will  rise  out  of  these  billows 
never  to  hate  again.  Down,  down,  down  he  sinks, 
till  he  feels  that  he  is  the  very  chief  of  sinners:  he 
never  will  know  spiritual  pride  again.  He  will  ever 
feel  a  brotherhood  of  guilt  with  the  lowest  and  vilest 
of  men.     Humility  is  being  born. 

More  than  this,  there  rolls  in  upon  him  one  dark, 
awful  fact — he  cannot  undo  his  wrong.     He  cannot 
recall  the  dead  of  whose  blood  he   has  been  guilty; 
he  cannot  loose  the  bonds  of  those   in  prison,  and 
who  may  have  been  consigned  to  death  by  his  vote. 
The  arrow  flown  is  past  recall.     As  by  a  monster  with 
its  fiery  breath  upon  his  cheek  does  he  seem  pinioned 
to  the  earth  by  his  sin;  or  as  chained  to  a  decayed 
and  festering  body,  he  cannot  escape,  or  free  himself 
from  its  loathsome  presence.     It  is  to  him  an  awful 
fact — one  from   which,   neither  within   his   own  re- 
sources, nor  in  his  religion,  has  he  found  any  release. 
Hour  after  hour  his  thoughts  bring  in  new  freightage 
of  agony,  until  he  cries,  **0  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
who  shall  deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of  this  death?'' 
and  groans  toward  heaven:  **0  God,  if  there  be  even 
in    Omnipotence    any   power    to    cleanse    me,    save 
me!    wash  me!    and  let  me  stand  white  in  thy  pres- 
ence!"    His   prayer  is   answered.     A   man  is    seen 
in  a  vision  coming  in  and  laying  hands  on  him  that 
he  may  receive  his  sight,  and  soon  Ananias  is  at  his 
side.      He   says,    having  laid  hands  on   him  and  re- 
stored  his   sight:     **The    God  of    our  fathers    hath 
appointed  thee  to  know  his  will,  and  to  see  the  Right- 
eous One,  and  to  hear  a  voice  from  his  mouth.     For 
thou  shalt  be  a  witness  for  him  unto  all  men  of  what 
thou   hast  seen   and  heard.     And   now   why  tarriest 

382 


ST.  Paul's  conversion 

thou?  Arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy 
sins,  calling  qn  his  name"  (Acts  xxii.  14-16).  This 
is  the  first  word  yet  spoken  regarding  his  salvation; 
and  it  is  from  Christ,  as  he  knows,  for  Ananias  stands 
accredited  to  him  by  the  healing  of  his  blindness. 
He  is  to  arise  and  be  baptized,  and  Christ  will  meet 
him  there  and  cleanse  him  from  his  sin.  He  may  not 
understand  why  it  is  so,  but  he  cannot  doubt  it.  He 
obeys;  and  as  he  sinks  into  his  Redeemer's  grave, 
trusting  in  his  promise,  he  lays  the  burden  on  Christ. 
He  appropriates  to  his  soul  that  priceless  salvation. 
In  an  act  of  appropriative  faith,  trusting  in  his  Sa- 
vior's promise,  he  receives  from  his  hand  the  offered 
boon  and  rests  in  his  Redeemer.  With  Saul,  not  till 
now  have  the  conditions  existed  making  such  a 
mental  act  possible.  Now  the  appropriative  faith 
and  the  peace  are  his — a  chastened  joy  of  release — a 
rest  of  soul,  but  one  which  hears,  and  will  never 
cease  to  hear,  the  thunders  of  the  receding  storm. 
The  sufferer  whose  form  is  racked  with  the  tortures 
of  disease,  whose  features  bespeak  the  agonies  of 
approaching  dissolution,  at  last  grows  cafm;  all  is 
still,  and  a  smile  of  peace  rests  on  the  thin,  pale  face. 
It  is  death — death  to  pain,  to  suffering,  to  sorrow. 
The  old  foes  still  exist,  but  the  sufferer  has  escaped 
them;  he  is  dead.  Saul  also  is  dead!  Sin  storms 
just  behind,  but  he  has  escaped.  The  soul  so  lately 
rent  with  agony  is  now  at  rest.  He  has  laid  all  on 
Christ.  He  has  found  shelter  in  the  bosom  of  his 
Redeemer.  He  has  escaped  as  from  the  fangs  of  a 
monster.  He  is  dead — dead  to  sin.  The  struggle  is 
over,  and  there  is  rest.  The  burden  has  been  lifted 
from  his  soul.  When  this  man  writes  about  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  where  will   he  place  the  justification? 

383 


MOKAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

where  will  he  place  the  faith  that  appropriates  it?  and 
where  will  he  place  death  to  sin?  The  conditions  of 
the  narrative  place  both  the  justification  and  the  faith 
that  appropriates  it  (the  appropriating  spiritual  act), 
in  baptism.  Not  one  word  is  said  about  Saul's  per- 
sonal salvation  earlier  than  Acts  xxii.  16,  and  the  con- 
ditions for  the  existence  of  this  faith  did  not  exist  till 
that  time.  Saul  believed  on  (et?,  into)  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  its  blessed  and  completed  sense,  in  his  bap- 
tism^ there  died  to  sin  (fled  from  it,  and  grasping  the 
strong  hand  was  freed  from  its  guilt  and  hopeless 
thralldom),  and  there  was  justified  (Rom.  vi.  7). 

Before  leaving  this  stage  of  our  inquiry,  however, 
one  question  demands  attention.  Before  his  bap- 
tism, and  before  he  was  visited  by  Ananias,  we  are 
told  that  Saul  prayed ;  and  the  question  may  arise 
whether  this  does  not  indicate  the  completion  of  the 
spiritual  process  of  his  conversion.  This  fact  in  his 
spiritual  history  is  not  to  be  passed  without  due  con- 
sideration. What  his  prayer  contained  we  are  not 
informed,  but  the  fact  itself  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance. It'  forms  a  way-mark  in  the  progress  of  his 
conversion,  and  throws  light  on  his  mental  condition 
at  that  point.  It  certainly  implies  submission.  It 
means  that  the  last  struggle  in  the  fierce  battle  of  re- 
pentance is  over.  It  means  that  Saul  is  ready  to  do 
God's  whole  will  regarding  Christ,  just  as  Cornelius 
and  his  friends  were  ready  to  hear  and  do  when  Peter 
visited  them  (Acts  x.  33).  That  Saul  has  not  been 
ready  before,  in  some  sense,  is  implied  in  the  fact  that 
Christ's  message  to  him  regarding  his  duty  is  still 
withheld.  His  prayer  is  accepted  provisionally,  like 
that  of  Cornelius,    and    like    his,    also,   results  in   a 

vision  and  the  sending  of  an  instructor.     But  Cor- 

384 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

nelius'  prayer,  although  accepted  in  this  sense,  did 
not  imply  his  salvation  (Actsxi.  14)  nor  the  remission 
of  his  sins  (ch.  x.  43).  Saul's  praying  implies  sub- 
mission and  readiness  to  do,  for  the  divine  steps  are 
immediately  taken  to  inform  him  of  his  duty  and 
admit  him  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  (ch.  ix.  10-18); 
but  it  does  not  imply  that  the  spiritual  process  of 
his  conversion  is  completed.  He  has  not  "put  on 
Christ"  (taken  him  to  himself),  nor  entered  into 
spiritual  union  with  him;  for  Christ  has  not  yet  of- 
fered himself  in  such  a  relation.  He  has  not  laid 
hold  on  Christ  and  rested  in  him  as  saved  (personal, 
appropriative  faith) ;  for  he  neither  knows  on  what 
conditions  he  may  do  so,  nor  has  this  blessed  privi- 
lege yet  been  offered  to  him.  He  is  in  the  condition 
of  many  who  enter  the  inquiry  room  in  modern  re- 
vivals. He  is  submissive  and  ready  to  do  his  duty, 
but  he  does  not  know  what  it  is,  and  that  appropri- 
ative trust  that  shall  bring  him  into  blessed  union 
with  Christ  is  not  yet  possible.  He  is  an  inquirer. 
He  has  asked  the  question  what  he  shall  do  regarding 
his  sin,  and  it  has  not  yet  been  answered.  He  knows 
there  is  something  to  be  done,  for  Christ  has  said  so 
(ch.  ix.  6).  Though  he  is  now  ready  in  heart,  Christ 
does  not  yet  make  the  proffer  that  makes  appropri- 
ative faith  possible,  does  not  grant  him  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  cannot  grant  him  the  remission  of  sins, 
without  violating  moral  law,  as  well  as  a  principle  of 
his  government.  Saul  is  red-handed  with  a  crime; 
and,  although  its  perpetuation  could  be  easily  and 
quickly  stopped,  nothing  has  been  done  to  stop  it. 
Hence  Christ  does  not  meet  him  here;  Saul  does  not 
lay  hold  on  Christ  in  personal,  possessive  faith;  the 

Holy  Spirit,  with  its  assurance  of  sonship,  is  not  yet 
25  385 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

given;  and  Saul's  fast,  the  symbol  of  his  mourning 
and  gloom,  is  not  broken.  Saul's  conversion  is  not 
yet  completed;  its  spiritual  steps  have  not  all  been 
taken.  The  assurance  of  the  vision  that  he  shall  re- 
ceive his  sight  does  not  break  his  fast;  his  blind- 
ness is  not  the  cause  of  his  great  sorrow.  The  ago- 
nizing question  regarding  his  sin  has  not  yet  been 
answered.  He  knows  that  that  matter  is  not  yet  dis- 
posed of,  for  it  has  yet  to  be  dealt  with  (ch.  ix.  6). 
He  is  still  held  at  arm's  length.  Crushed  in  spirit, 
shattered  in  body,  and  overwhelmed  by  a  great  sor- 
row, he  awaits  the  message  that  is  to  tell  him  what  is 
to  be  done  about  his  sin. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  had  Saul  at  the  time 
of  uttering  his  prayer  known  what  his  duty  was  and 
the  divine  will  regarding  him,  there  would  have  been 
at  that  point,  not  simply  a  virtual  or  actual  surrender, 
but  also  a  glad  laying  hold  on  the  offered  salvation, 
and  the  anxious  and  agonizing  prayer  would  have 
been  changed  into  the  ''calling  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  of  baptism.  As,  in  other  cases,  the  answer 
to  the  question  what  to  do  was  not  delayed,  the  acts 
of  surrender  and  appropriative  trust  were  wont  to 
take  place  together,  being  merged  into  one  act,  and 
not  separated  as  in  the  case  of  Saul.  If  in  any  case, 
however,  obligation  is  learned  before  privilege,  the 
steps  of  surrender  and  appropriative  trust  will  be 
likely  to  take  place  separately,  as  they  did  with  Saul. 

Since,  in  Saul's  experience,  the  act  of  appropri- 
ative trust  took  place  in  his  baptism,  it  is  easy  to  see 
why,  in  arguing  from  the  case  of  Abraham,  baptism 
should  not  bs  excluded  from  the  faith  that  is  reck- 
oned for  righteousness,  and  why  Paul  should   place 

the  spiritual  act  of  putting  on  Christ   (Gal.  iii.  27) 

386 


ST.    PAUL  S    COX  VERSION 

and  entering   into   union  with   him  (Rom.  vi.  5),  in 
baptism.     So  it  had  been  in  his  o\vn  conversion. 

We  have,  however,  not  yet  exhausted  the  elements 
of  Saul's  experience.  There  was  more  than  the  rest 
of  soul  naturally  resulting  from  casting  all  in  trust 
upon  Christ,  however  great  the  sense  of  relief  from 
such  an  act.  There  rose  in  his  heart  a  strong  sense 
of  assurance  that  he  was  accepted,  and  that,  not 
simply  as  a  pardoned  culprit,  but  as  a  son — that  he 
was  loved  and  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  Heaven. 
So  strong  was  this  assurance  that  he  found  his  lips 
moving  with  the  blessed  words,  '*Abba,  Father." 
Now,  at  what  time  did  this  blessed  assurance  come  to 
him?  Was  it  either  on  the  Damascus  road  or  during 
his  three  days  of  mourning  and  suspense?  We  can- 
not be  in  doubt  regarding  this,  for  he  himself  dis- 
tinctly refers  such  assurance  to  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (Rom.  viii.  15  and  Gal.  iv.  6),  and  this 
did  not  come  at  the  time  of  his  meeting  with  Christ 
on  his  way  to  Damascus,  nor  during  his  three  days  of 
mourning,  but  at  his  baptism.* 

*On  the  Hme  of  Saul's  reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  see 
Appendix  B.,  449.  We  may  further  say  that,  even  if  it  were  to 
be  allowed  that  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  took  place  in 
Saul's  case  before  his  baptism,  it  would  not  essentially  change 
the  bearings  of  this  question.  Even  in  that  case,  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  its  assurance  of  acceptance  did  not  come  either  while  on  the 
road  to  Damascus  or  during  Saul's  agonizing  days  of  repentance, 
but  on  the  occasion  of,  and  in  immediate  connection  with,  his 
baptism;  and  it  must  in  his  memory  have  been  referred  to  that 
occasion,  and  not  to  either  of  the  other  stages  of  his  experience. 
He  was  baptized  immediately  after  receiving  his  sight  (Acts  xxii. 
16).  Paul  unquestionably  refers  this  sense  to  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  as  he  places  the  reception  of  the  Spirit  after 
(or  in)  baptism  (Tit.  iii.  5;  Gal.  iii.  26,  27  compared  with  iv.  6; 
Acts  xix.  1-7)  in  his  teaching  and  practice,  this  would  bring  the 
assurance  of  sonship  in  or  after  baptism  in  the  case  of  other  con- 
verts, even  though  it  had  not  been  so  in  his  case.  But,  as  shown 
in  the  appendix,  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  that  his  case  was 
exceptional. 

387 


MORAL  AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

We  have  not  even  yet  exhausted  all  the  elements  of 
Saul's  experience.  He  was  destined  soon  to  make  a 
discovery.  In  all  his  previous  strivings  agaiust  sin, 
he  had  found  it  impossible  to  master  it.  The  very 
effort  to  put  it  down  and  banish  it  from  his  heart — 
to  purify  the  fountains  of  his  thought  and  feeling — 
had  quickened  it  into  new  vitality,  and  he  had  found 
himself  a  helpless  victim  to  its  power.  He  now  finds 
all  this  changed.  Explain  it  as  we  may,  Paul  found 
this  to  be  one  of  the  great  facts  of  Christianity. 
Was  it  due  to  the  drawing  of  the  soul  out  of  itself 
by  the  kindling  of  a  new  and  passionate  attachment 
to  a  pure  and  holy  Being?  Perhaps  so,  at  least  in 
part.  Perhaps  also  it  was  due  to  more  than  we  can 
explain  on  any  natural  principles.  We  are  not,  how- 
ever, so  much  concerned  with  its  philosophical  ex- 
planation, as  with  Paul's  own  understanding  of  it. 
The  source  to  which  he  referred  this  new  power  is 
very  clearly  stated.     In  Rom.  viii:  1  U-,  he  says: 

* 'There  is  therefore  no  condemnation  to  them  that 
are  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
in  Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  bin  and  of 
death.  For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was 
weak  through  the  flesh,  God,  sending  his  own  Son  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  as  an  offering  for  sin, 
condemned  sin  in  the  flesh;  that  the  ordinance  of  the 
law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  For  they  that  are  after  the 
flesh  do  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh;  but  they  that  are 
after  the   Spirit  the  things  of  the  Spirit.*     For  the 


*  Tn  vv.  5,  6,  9,  13,  the  R.  V.  does  not  capitalize  the  word  spirit 
in  the  text;  but  the  American  committee  of  revisers  record  their 
dissent  from  this.  We  follow  the  American  committee's  render- 
ing. 

388 


ST.    PAUL  S   CONVERSION 

mind  of  the  flesh  is  death,  but  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
is  life  and  peace;  because  the  mind  of  the  flesh  is 
enmity  against  God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  hnv 
of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be:  and  they  that  are  in 
the  flesh  cannot  please  God.     But  ye  are  not  in  the 

FLESH,  BUT    IN  THE    SpIRIT,  IF  SO  BE   THAT   THE  SpIRIT 

of  God  dwelleth  in  you.  But  if  any  man  hath  not 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." 

Here  a  disability  to  fulfil  the  law  of  righteousness 
is  asserted,  and  ascribed  to  the  "flesh";  while  the 
overcoming  of  this  disability,  so  that  "the  ordinance 
of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled,"  is  ascribed  to  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Spirit,  without  which  one  cannot 
belong  to  Christ  or  be  owned  by  him.  With  all  Paul's 
earnest  efforts  before,  he  had  met  with  nothing  but 
failure  (Rom.  vii.  15-25);  now  he  finds  himself  ener- 
gized by  a  new  power  to  master  sin,  which  he  declares 
to  be  due  to  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And 
this  came  in  Saul's  case,  not  while  on  the  Damascus 
road,  nor  during  the  three  days  of  mourning,  but  at 
his  baptism.  And  here  we  have  the  other  element 
which  Paul  places  in  the  comprehensive  phrase  death 
to  sin, — not  only  a  renunciation  of  it,  a  cutting  loose 
from  it,  and  a  freeing  from  its  guilt,  but  also  a  free- 
ing from  its  power.  If  this  occurred  at  Saul's  bap- 
tism, and  if  baptism  is,  by  divine  appointment,  a 
condition  of  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts 
ii.  38),  this  escape  from  the  power  of  sin, — from  its 
"bondage"  (Rom.  vi.  6), — this  completion  of  the  act 
of  death  to  sin,  is  to  be  associated  with  baptism,  and 
not  with  any  previous  stage  of  experience. 

Even   if  we   should   attempt  to  explain   this   new 

power  as  a  result  proceeding  from  an  overmastering 

affection  for  a  holy  Being,  where  should  we  locate  it? 

^389 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

— when  Saul  was  smitten  and  crushed  to  the  earth  by 
the  awful  fact  of  his  crime  against  Christ  and  his 
church?  while  he  lay  agonizing  over  his  sin,  and 
awaiting  some  word  that  should  bring  him  light?  Is 
it  here,  wdiere  he  is  crushed  by  the  sense  of  his  guilt, 
and  writhing  beneath  it  like  a  helpless  victim  in  the 
grasp  of  a  monster — is  it  here  that  he  feels  the  sense 
of  victory?  Would  it  not  rather  be  when  he  had  en- 
tered into  blessed  union  and  communion  with  Christ, 
and  felt  that  the  barrier  of  his  crime,  built  mountain 
high  against  heaven,  had  been  removed  by  absolution? 
— something  that  he  could  n  )t  feel  while  he  still  re- 
mained in  the  dark  concerning  the  divine  will  respect- 
ing his  salvation.  But,  even  if  we  refer  this  new 
power  to  love,  drowning  all  lower  and  incompatible 
feelings  in  the  flood  of  a  new  life  of  aifection,  we 
must  remember  that  Paul  refers  this  new  and  sub- 
merging love  itself  to  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
for  he  says  (Gal.  v.  22)  :  ''But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  kindness,  good- 
ness, faithfulness,  meekness,  self-control."  The  up- 
rising of  all  these  heart-forces  for  righteousness  is  re- 
ferred to  the  indwelling  Spirit.  So  that,  even  though 
this  explanation  be  given  of  Paul's  new  experience  of 
power  over  sin,  it  would  still  be  referred  by  him,  in 
most  important  emphasis,  to  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Let  it  be  remembered,  whatever  be  the  ex- 
planation given  of  it,  that  Paul  distinctly  refers  this 
new  power  over  sin  to  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — an  event  which  took  place  at  his  baptism,  not 
at  any  earlier  period  of  his  experience. 

But  there  remains  still  another  aspect  of  Saul's  ex- 
perience to  be  considered,  namely,  his  sense  of  union 

Vv^ith  Christ.     In  Kotn.   vi.  he  speaks  of  being  united 

390 


with  Christ  by  the  likeness  of  his  death,  of  being 
baptized  into  him,  and,  in  other  phices,  of  being  in 
Christ,  and  of  Christ's  dwelling  in  us.  To  what  point 
must  we  refer  the  origin  of  this  sense?  Paul's  lan- 
guage places  it  in  baptism,  but  it  is  thought  by  many 
that  it  cannot  properly  be  placed  there. 

This  doctrine  of  union  with  Christ  may  possibly  be 
referred  to  several  sources.  It  may  be  supposed  to 
have  been  communicated  to  Paul  by  direct  revelation, 
and  held  to  be  true  on  the  strength  of  the  divine 
veracity,  without  any  other  evidence  of  its  existence. 
It  is,  however,  true  that  it  was  the  possession  of  the 
church  long  before  Paul's  conversion.  Christ  had 
taught  it  in  the  clearest  manner  during  his  earth- 
ly ministry,  declaring  that  a  vital  union  like  that 
of  the  branch  with  the  vine  existed  between  him  and 
his  people.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had,  cen- 
turies before,  been  a  matter  of  prophecy  by  Joel  and 
had  been  dwelt  upon  by  John  the  Baptist  as  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  the  Messiah's  approach- 
ing reign;  while  in  the  representative  sermon 
preached  by  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  this 
divine  indwelling  had  been  promised  to  all  peoples 
on  condition  of  repentance  and  baptism.  Unless, 
therefore,  this  blessed  fact  and  glorious  promise  were 
illusive,  the  fact  of  mystic  union  with  Christ  was  a 
matter  of  common  experience  with  Christians  in 
Paul's  time,  so  that  no  divine  revelation  would  be 
necessary  to  communicate  the  knowledge  of  its  exist- 
ence to  Paul.  While  this  truth  might  therefore  be 
supposed  to  come  into  Paul's  possession  as  a  common 
heritage  of  the  church,  and  be  held  by  him  as  a  mere 
abstract  doctrine  of  theology,  believed  on  the  strength 

of  the  divine  veracity,  I   believe  that  this   will   not 

391 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

fully  account  for  Paul's  teaching  on  the  subject.  His 
representation  of  it  is  too  original,  and  too  personal, 
to  have  proceeded  from  any  source  less  profound  than 
that  of  personal  realization  of  its  blessed  experi- 
ence in  his  daily  life.  Such  language  as,  ''I  have 
been  crucified  with  Christ;  j^et  I  live  and  yet  no 
longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me,"  and  much  other  of 
like  character,  is  too  fervid  and  personal  to  be  a 
mere  matter  of  cold  theology.  Paul's  original  and 
vivid  setting  forth  of  this  great  truth  can  only  have 
sprung  from  direct  and  practical  experience.  His 
language  is  redolent  of  the  heart. 

What,  then,  let  us  ask,  was  the  origin  of  Paul's 
sense  of  union  with  Christ,  and  to  what  point  in  his 
experience  is  it  to  be  referred?  Shall  we  suppose  it 
to  be  the  result  of  his  consciousness  of  love  for  Christ? 
The  language  of  love  is  the  language  of  union  the 
world  over;  and  love  produces  a  sense  of  oneness  be- 
tween persons,  so  that  they  suffer  in  sympathy,  enjoy 
together,  and  are  twinned  in  interest.  The  union  of 
friendship  and  of  marriage  are  unions  of  love.  We 
can  hardly  doubt  that  much  of  what  Paul  describes  as 
union  with  Christ  finds  its  explanation  in  this  domi- 
nant principle  of  the  Christian  life.  If,  then,  Saul 
loved  Christ  before  his  baptism,  and  if  love  always 
produces  a  sense  of  union  with  the  object  loved,  must 
not  the  sense  of  union  with  Christ  have  arisen  before 
Saul's  baptism?  If  these  things  be  true,  such  would 
evidently  be  the  conclusion.  But  does  love  always, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  give  rise  to  a  sense  of 
union?  So  far  is  it  from  doing  so,  that  a  great  wrong 
done  may  produce  a  painful  sense  of  distance  and  sep- 
aration.    The  erring  one  may  feel   himself  shut  out 

and  removed  from  the  fellowship  which  is  natural  to 

392 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

love,  and  craved  by  it;  and  he  will  feel  this  sense  of 
severance  till  he  has  done  something  to  heal  the 
wound  he  has  inflicted,  and  is  forgiven — that  is,  until 
the  barrier  is  removed.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  will 
the  sense  of  union  be  restored.  Such  was  Saul's  case. 
He  had  been  guilty  of  a  monstrous  wrong  against 
Christ  and  his  people.  Christ  had  charged  it  upon 
him.  He  had  said  nothing  about  pardoning  it.  He  had 
given  no  information  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  about 
it.  Christ  had  sent  him  away  to  think,  and  told  him 
he  would  tell  him  what  to  do  later.  It  was  clear  to 
Saul  that  the  matter  was  not  yet  disposed  of.  There 
was  reason  to  believe  that  when  Christ  should  submit 
his  conditions,  if  he  accepted  and  complied  with  them, 
he  might  be  pardoned  and  accepted,  but  not  till  then; 
and  how  much  of  even  this  the  crushing  sense  of  his 
mountain  sin  permitted  him  to  hope  for,  we  cannot 
know.  During  this  period  of  waiting  and  suspense,  a 
dark  and  impassable  gulf  must  have  seemed  to  lie  be- 
tween him  and  Christ.  Under  these  circumstances 
any  sense  of  union  was  impossible.  Love  itself  would 
render  it  doubly  so.  At  last  Ananias  is  sent  to  him 
and  tells  him  that  Christ  will  meet  him  in  absolution 
in  baptism.  Saul  complies,  and  there  the  barrier  to 
union  is  removed.  Then  it  was  that  love's  sweet 
sense  of  oneness  began  to  be  felt;  and  need  we  any 
longer  wonder  that  it  is  just  there  that  Paul  in  Rom. 
vi.  5,  places  union  with  Christ? 

But,  while  love  to  Christ  was  doubtless  an  indispen- 
sable element  in  Paul's  sense  of  mystic  union  with 
Christ,  it  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  exhausting  the 
idea.  Love  can  hardly,  of  itself,  complete  the  sense 
of  union  if  there  be  no  reciprocating  communion.     A 

statesman  and  his  estima!)!c  wife  not  long  ago  lavished 

393 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

millions  on  a  great  university  of  the  West  in  memory 
of  an  idolized  and  only  son.  It  was  all  they  could  do  to 
heal  the  wound  that  death  had  made  in  their  hearts. 
It  was  a  precious  ministry,  a  chaplet  laid  on  the  brow 
of  the  vanished  form  of  their  boy;  but  this  ministry  of 
love  could  not  undo  a  sense  of  separation  from  the  de- 
parted one.  It  was  love  striving  to  span  the  gulf  of 
death  and  loss,  but  not  satisfying  itself.  So  Paul's 
passionate  love  for  Christ  can,  of  itself,  hardly  fill  out 
the  meaning  of  his  language  of  union.  There  must 
be  a  consciousness  of  double  life — another  presence 
within  the  soul,  quickening  it  and  ever  responding  in 
answering  blessedness  to  every  thought  and  act  of  com- 
muning love  and  trust.  How  this  may  be,  we  need 
not  ask.  There  need  be  no  spirit-vision  of  another 
personality,  but  a  new  sense  of  strength  and  spiritual 
quickening,  and  an  answering  blessing  to  every  ad- 
vance of  the  heart,  assuring  it  that  the  unseen  Christ 
is  there.  Such  a  sense  of  union  can  only  be  referred 
to  the  indwelling  Spirit;  and  this  came  to  Saul,  as  we 
know,  in  connection  with  his  baptism,  not  at  any 
earlier  stage  of  his  conversion,  and  was,  by  divine  ap- 
pointment, to  be  received  on  condition  of  repentance 
and  baptism  by  all  whom  God  should  call  to  his 
salvation  (Acts  2:38,39).* 
Thus  we  have  one  long-standing  question  answered. 

*  It  should  be  observed  that  the  presence  and  communion  of 
the  indwelling  Spirit  is  not  necessarily  all  there  is  in  union  with 
Christ.  There  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  power  of  love  going  far  to 
form  that  bond;  and  then  the  surrender  to  and  acceptance  of 
Christ  in  that  holy  relation,  and  the  pardon  of  sin  and  adoption 
to  divine  sonship,  constitute  in  themselves  the  formation  of  a 
union  with  Christ,  but  one  lacking  in  completeness.  Marriage 
might  take  place  at  a  distance,  by  telegraph,  and  would  even  then 
be  a  union;  but  if  separation  were  contemplated  as  perpetual,  it 
would  lose  most  of  its  meaning.  The  union  with  Christ  is  not 
satisfied  and  completed   apart   from  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit. 

394 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

All  the  sjDiritual  elements  which  Paul  attributes  to 
baptism  in  Rom.  vi.  1-7  and  Gal.  iii.  27,  were  actuall}^ 
connected  with  it  in  his  own  conversion.  They  are 
not  therefore  to  be  referred  to  some  earlier  stage  of 
conversion,  and  regarded  as  simply  symbolically  looked 
back  upon  by  a  memorial  rite;  but  they  all  belong  to 
baptism,  and  were  all  actually  connected  with  that 
most  joyous  and  glorious  of  baptisms,  the  baptism  of 
Paul.  In  the  first  seven  verses  of  the  sixth  chapter  of 
Romans  Paul  is  writing  blessed  history.  It  is  the 
transcript  of  one  shining  hour,  the  hour  of  his  baptism. 
In  this  spiritually  profound  and  most  momentous  of 
baptisms  we  have  the  key  to  the  New  Testament  doc- 
trine. Rom.  vi.  tells  us  what  baptism  is  to  a  soul 
shaken  and  crushed  with  the  sense  of  sin,  and  then 
told  that  Christ  will  meet  it  in  pardoning  mercy  in 
that  holy  act.  Rom.  vi.  is  heart-history.  What  was 
it  to  this  man  to  sink  into  the  blessed  arms  and  rise 
leaving  his  burden  in  the  grave  where  he  met  his  Re- 
deemer? What  was  it  to  be  '''•filled''  (for  to  a  heart  so 
hungry  and  so  ready,  the  Spirit  came  in  no  small  meas- 
ure) with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  feel  the  pulsations  of  a 
new  life,  the  gladness  of  a  new  joy? 

In  the  account  of  Paul's  conversion  no  man  can 
place  that  spiritual  act  which  appropriated  Christ's 
salvation  (appropriative  faith,  the  resting  in  him  as 
saved),  either  at  his  meeting  with  Christ  on  the 
Damascus  road,  or  during  the  subsequent  three  days 
of  mourning,  without  doing  violence  to  the  narrative. 
The  narrative  asserts  nothing  of  the  kind,  nor  are  the 
conditions  which  it  presents  compatible  with  such  a 
view.  No  man  can  place  Saul's  pardon  at  either  of 
these  points  without  causing  Christ  to  violate  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  his  government.    Saul  had  a  crime 

395 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

against  the  Church  of  Christ  first  to  be  disposed  of. 
No  man  can  place  the  death  to  sin  spoken  of  by  Paul, 
at  either  of  these  points,  unless  death  to  sin  be  taken 
to  mean^repentance.  But  who,  after  reading  Paul's 
language  in  Rom.  vi.  6,  which  says:  "Knowing  this, 
that  our  old  man  was  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body 
of  sin  might  be  done  away,  that  so  we  should  no  long- 
er be  in  bondage  to  sin,"  and  comparing  this  with  the 
cry  of  despair  of  one  who  had  already  come  to  hate 
sin, — was  trying  to  forsake  it,  i.  e.,  a  penitent,^but 
who  found  the  loathsome  corpse  still  clinging  to  him 
like  an  inseparable  self — who  that  looks  upon  this 
picture  can  say  that  with  Paul  death  to  sin  is  accom- 
plished in  repentance?  With  Paul  the  man  who  is 
dead  to  sin  has  not  only  renounced  it,  but  is  justified 
from  its  guilt  (Rom.  vi:7)  and  released  from  its  power 
{v.  6).*  And  this  release  from  the  power  of  sin  is, 
with  Paul,  pre-eminently  through  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  (Rom.  viii.  1,2  sq.  and  v.  9,  compare 
Eph.  iii. 16-19),  a  bestowment  which  takes  place  at 
and  on  condition  of  baptism.  Then  again,  no  one  can 
place  the  sense  of  union  with  Christ,  whether  that 
sense  arise  from  love  to  Christ,  or  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  at  any  other  stage  of  Saul's  conver- 
sion than  his  baptism,  without  disregarding  the  con- 
ditions of  the  narrative. 

It  is  rightly  held  by  scholars,  that  Paul's  theology 
has  its  foundation  largely  in  his  personal  experience. 
Out  of  this  grew  his  views  of  law  and  grace,  of  faith 
and  of  justification,  and,  may  we  not  add,  his  doc- 
trine of  baptism,  or,  at  least,  his  statement  of  that 
doctrine;    for  respecting  the  facts,  he  is  in  perfect 


*  Potentiall}',  that  is:  he  can  overcome  it  with  growing  success^ 
if  he  will;  without  Christ,  he  cannot  do  it. 

396 


ST.    PAUL  8    CONVERSION 

accord  with  other  teachers  of  the  apostolic  church. 
Paul's  conversion  is  the  matrix  from  which  sprang  his 
theology,  and  in  that  conversion  stands  out  in  boldest 
characters  the  spiritual  nature  of  baptism:  not  only 
that  baptism  does  possess  spiritual  elements,  but  pre- 
cisely what  they  are ;  that  it  embraces  the  appropri- 
ating faith  of  salvation,  the  death  to  sin,  and  the 
spiritual  union  with  Christ,  accentuated — either  in 
baptism,  or  closely  connected  therewith — by  the  be- 
stowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  the  putting  on  of 
Christ  (taking  him  as  one's  own),  the  appropriation 
of  his  salvation  and  of  himself  in  a  relation  of 
blessed  union  and  communion. 

The  spiritual  and  physical  elements  of  baptism  are 
joined  together  in  the  language  of  Paul;  they  were 
also  joined  in  his  own  conversion,  and  in  those  of  the 
converts  of  his  time,  and  they  will  always  be  so 
joined  in  the  experience  of  conversion,  when  the 
gospel  is  presented  as  it  came  from  the  lips  of  the 
apostles. 

While  the  language  of  the  apostle  Paul  connects 
all  these  spiritual  things  with  baptism,  and  while  the 
accounts  of  his  conversion  show  that  they  were  really 
so  connected  in  his  own  case,  it  remains  to  ask  one 
further  question:  Do  the  experiences  of  modern 
conversion  warrant  us  in  believing  that  such  spiritual 
blessings  are  now  connected  with  the  act?  Does  bap- 
tism now  embrace  such  spiritual  experiences  as  are 
described  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  Romans?  or,  rather, 
do  the  facts  of  modern  experience  require  that  these 
shall  be  recognized  as  taking  place  at  an  earlier  stage 
of  the  process  of  conversion?  and  are  we  not  thus 
compelled  to  disconnect  these  spiritual  events  from 

the  act  of  baptism?     I  answer  that,  if  baptism  is  to 

397 


MOEAL    AND    SriRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

be  displaced,  being  located  some^vhere  on  in  the 
Christian  life,  and  if  the  spiritual  act  of  surrender  to 
Christ,  of  appropriation  of  his  salvation,  and  receiv- 
ing him  in  a  relation  of  vital  union  and  communion, 
is  made  to  take  place  apart  from  and  long  before 
baptism,  baptism  being  transformed  into  a  mere 
retrospective  act — we  must  give  up  all  reasonable 
hope  of  finding  anything  in  it.  If  you  deprive  it  of 
its  human  spiritual  element,  you  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  its  divine  spiritual  element  be  also  lacking. 
Separate  its  spirit  and  you  leave  it  but  a  corpse,  an  ex- 
ternal form.  However  great  a  man  may  be  in  physical 
or  intellectual  strength,  we  certainly  expect  nothing 
from  his  corpse.  But  if  the  faith  that  is  reckoned 
for  righteousness  shall  take  place  in  baptism,  if  the 
soul  shall  there  make  its  complete  surrender  to  Christ 
and  lay  hold  on  him  as  its  Savior,  all  these  spiritual 
blessings — these  divine  responses  to  faith — will  take 
place  in  connection  with  baptism^  or  noiohere.  Kaise 
baptism  from  the  tomb  of  formalism  in  which  it  has 
long  lain;  let  it  be  the  giving  of  the  soul  to  Christ, 
the  cry  for  the  divine  forgiveness,  the  appropriation 
of  the  divine  blessing,  the  prayerful,  loving  commit- 
ment of  the  life  to  its  Redeemer,  and  the  divine 
glories  will  again  gather  about  it.  Let  it  again  be 
the  return  of  the  prodigal  with  anxious,  heart-broken 
surrender,  and  the  Father  will  be  thereto  meet  him 
with  the  kiss  of  absolution,  with  the  ring  of  sonship, 
and  shoes  for  the  bleeding  feet.  Why  should  the 
Shekinah  dwell  in  a  temple  forsaken  of  the  human 
heart? 

How  often  has  the  writer,  in  administering  baptism, 
beheld  a  light  not  of  earth  in  the  face  of  the  candi- 
date, a  rapt  joy  of  heavenly  peace  and  communion, 

398 


ST.    PAUL  S    CONVERSION 

until  he  has  been  made  to  feel  that  he  stood  on  holy 
ground.  To  the  mortal  eye  there  was  no  opening 
heavens,  and  no  descending  dove,  no  pealing  thunder 
declaring,  "This  is  my  son!"  but  the  joy  was  there, 
the  peace,  and  the  blessed  sense  of  sonship.  Restore 
Christian  baptism;  let  it  be  what  it  was  to  Saul — out 
of  his  suspense,  his  agony,  his  crushing  sense  of  guilt, 
a  fleeing  to  Christ,  a  falling  of  the  broken-hearted 
penitent  into  the  arms  of  a  forgiving  Savior,  and  it 
will  be,  as  it  once  was,  the  hallowed  meeting  place  of 
the  soul  with  its  God. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

METHODS  OF  KECONCILING   PAUL'S  DOCTRINE    OF    JUSTI- 
FICATION   WITH   THE    STATEMENT    OF    PETER    IN 
ACTS   II.    38. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  preceding  pages  to  point 
out  the  true  relation  subsisting  between  faith  and 
baptism,  and  to  show  that  it  involves  no  strained 
efforts  of  adjustment  between  those  passages  which 
grant  salvation  directly  to  faith,  and  that  other  class 
which  make  baptism  a  condition  of  attaining  it.  It 
now  remains  to  consider  some  of  the  more  common 
methods  of  reconciling  these  two  classes  of  state- 
ments. 

Paul,  in  his  argument  on  justification,  in  the  third 
and  fourth  chapters  of  Komans,  makes  justification 
depend  on  faith;  while  Peter,  in  his  answer  to  in- 
quirers on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  makes  remission  of 
sins  depend  on  repentance  and  baptism.  Paul  con- 
ducts his  argument  to  its  conclusion  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth  chapter,  without  mentioning  any  condition 
but  faith.  That  he  regards  this  as  the  condition  of 
justification,  is  evident  also  from  his  reference  to  the 
case  of  Abraham,  whose  faith  was  counted  for  right- 
eousness immediately,  without  waiting  for  any  sub- 
sequent step.  Moreover,  when  in  the  sixth  chapter 
Paul  does  name  something  else,  he  does  not  speak  of 
it  as  an  additional  condition,  but  as  something  in- 
volved in  what  he  had  already  said.  Whatever  he 
may  mean  by  it,  it  is  evident  that  Paul's  condition  of 
justification  is  faith.      In  Peter's  statement,  on  the 

other  hand,  the  word  faith  does  not  occur.     He  an- 

400 


PAUL  S   DOCTRII^E    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

swers  the  questioning  Pentecostians  by  saying:  "Re- 
pent ye,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins ;  and 
ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  The 
narrative  makes  it  evident,  however,  that  a  change  of 
view  had  already  taken  place  in  the  minds  of  Peter's 
auditors.  Peter  had  concluded  his  argument  with  the 
words:  "Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  therefore  know 
assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord  and 
Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified."  The  Pente- 
costians had  believed  this,  and  had  been  seized  with 
alarm  and  compunction  in  view  of  what  they  had 
done.  On  this  account,  Peter's  answer  to  them  em- 
braces only  what  remained  to  be  done. 

The  conditions  of  remission  of  sins  are  therefore, 
in  their  entirety,  (1)  belief  in  the  divinity  and  Mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus,  (2)  repentance,  and  (3)  baptism. 
This  statement  is  certainly  very  different  in  form 
from  that  given  by  Paul  in  Rom.  iii.  and  iv.  How 
are  they  to  be  reconciled? 

Before  proceeding  to  answer  this  question,  it  is  im- 
portant to  obbCive  that  it  i^  not  simply  ii  question  of 
reconciliation  between  Paul's  and  Peter's  teaching, 
but  equally  one  of  reconciling  Peter  with  himself, 
and  Paul  with  himself.  When  Peter  is  preaching  the 
gospel  at  the  house  of  Cornelius,  he  declares  that 
"every  one  that  believeth  on  him  [Jesus]  shall  re- 
ceive remission  of  sins"  (Acts  x.  43).  Here  justifica- 
tion, or  remission  of  sins,  is  promised  simply  on  con- 
dition of  faith,  and  the  statement  is  as  strong  as  any 
which  ever  proceeded  from  Paul.  On  the  other  hand, 
Paul,  in  Titus  iii.  5,  declares  that  men  are  saved 
through  "the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Spirit"  ;  and  when  he  is  recount- 
26  401 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

ingthe  incidents  of  his  owq  conversion,  on  the  steps 
of  the  castle  at  Jerusalem,  he  refers  to  Ananias  as 
saying  to  him:  **And  now  why  tarriest  thou?  Arise 
and  be  baptized  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on 
his  name"  (Acts  xxii.  16).  While  this  language  is 
not  Paul's,  Paul  is  our  only  witness  that  it  was 
uttered,  and  had  there  been  any  disagreement  be- 
tween Paul  and  the  other  apostles  on  this  subject,  or 
had  he  deemed  the  language  unwise  or  misleading, 
he  would  not  have  been  at  the  trouble  of  giving  it 
currency,  and  sanctioning  it  by  repetition.  It  must 
be  taken  as  having  all  the  force  of  an  utterance  from 
him,  and  it  places  justification,  or  remission  of  sins, 
in  baptism  no  less  unequivocally  than  Peter's  lan- 
guage in  Acts  ii.  38.  The  question  is  therefore  not 
one  of  reconciling  the  teachings  of  the  two  apostles, 
but  of  reconciling  the  different  ways  of  expressing 
the  same  thing  made  use  of  by  them  both.  It  is 
true,  however,  that  one  form  of  statement  is  more 
common  with  Paul,  while,  the  other- is  more  usual 
with  Peter. 

How,  now,  shall  these  two  forms  of  statement  be 
reconciled?  There  are  two  methods  which  demand 
special  attention  from  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
extensively  used. 

§  1.     The  First  Method, 

One  of  the  methods  of  reconciling  these  two  forms 
of  statement,  consists  in  taking  a  stand  squarely  on 
the  Petrine  statement  in  Acts  ii.  38,  and  seeking  to 
bring  the  Pauline  statement  in  Romans  into  accord 
with  this.  It  is  held  that  the  conditions  of  justi- 
fication, or  remission  of  sins,  are  (1)  faith  (belief), 
(2)    repentance,    and    (3)    baptism.     This   claim   is 

open  to  no  objection.     The  ground  is   unassailable, 

402 


PAULS    DOCTRINE    OF    JUSTIFICATION 

and  those  who  fulfil  these  requirements  in  sincerity 
of  heart  have  complied  with  all  the  conditions  of 
justification. 

This  statement,  too,  is  from  the  lips  of  a  common 
man  of  the  people,  it  is  in  the  words  of  common  use, 
and  it  is,  moreover,  presented  in  detail.  It  is  free  from 
obscurity,  and  is  adapted  to  reach  the  apprehension  of 
all  quite  as  readily  as  any  utterance  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  may  be  abused  in  the  direction  of  legalism, 
as  that  statement  which  is  more  particularly  Pauline 
may  be  abused  in  the  direction  of  intellectualism,  and 
that  of  John,  in  the  direction  of  mysticism.  None  of 
the  apostles,  however,  were  guilty  of  any  of  these 
abuses,  and  the  church  which  drinks  deeply  at  the 
fountains  of  all  three,  will  be  preserved  from  them  all. 

While,  therefore,  those  who  plant  themselves 
squarely  on  the  simple  and  unequivocal  statement  of 
Peter,  are  sure  to  be  right  in  the  ground  which  they 
occupy,  the  question  of  how  this  position  is  to  be 
reconciled  with  the  statements  of  Paul  in  Romans  iii. 
and  iv.  is  quite  another  matter.  If  we  take  the  belief 
which  constitutes  the  first  step  in  this  trio  of  condi- 
tions, and  attempt  to  read  it  into  Paul's  language  in 
his  argument  on  justification,  we  at  once  encounter 
difficulties: 

1.  Abraham's  faith,  which  Paul  refers  to  as  a  type 
of  justifying  faith,  sprang  out  of  a  loyal  heart;  this 
belief  of  the  Pentecostians  which  preceded  their  re- 
pentance, did  not.  It  is  repentance  which  makes 
the  heart  loyal,  and  these  Pentecostians  had  yet  to 
repent.  These  men  had  not  been  loyal  to  Christ,  but 
had  just  been  accused  of  being  guilty  of  his  death.  2. 
Abraham's  faith  needed  not  to  be  followed  by  repent- 
ance;   this   belief  of  the   truth  did.     3.     Abraham's 

403 


MORAL    AND    SriRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

faith  was  trust — trust  in  God  for  a  great  blessing;  this 
initial  belief  in  the  divinity  and  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  was  not  trust.  There  could  be  no  trust  in  Christ 
until  his  will  regarding  salvation  was  known,  and  the 
proffer  accepted.  The  resolution  to  accept  the  condi- 
tions of  salvation  normally  takes  place  in  repentance. 
These  people  had  not  repented,  therefore  had  not 
reached  the  stage  of  trust.  The  belief  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  not  trust.  4.  Abra- 
ham had  long  believed  in  the  true  and  living  God, 
while  this  initial  faith  of  the  Pentecostians  is  their 
first  belief  regarding  the  divinity  and  Lordship  of 
Jesus.  It  corresponds,  not  to  Abraham's  trusting  in 
God  for  a  great  blessing,  but  to  his  first  knowledge 
about  God.  This  is  their  first  true  knowledge  of 
Christ  and  his  character,  as  that  was  Abraham's  first 
knowledge  of  God  and  his  character.  Between  this 
and  Abraham's  later  act  of  faith  there  lay  an  impor- 
tant experience;  between  this  initial  belief  before  re- 
pentance and  the  faith  that  will  be  counted  for 
righteousness,  there  must  lie,  with  the  sinner,  some 
important  experience.  5.  Abraham's  faith  was 
counted  for  righteousness  immediately^  without  re- 
quiring any  subsequent  condition;  this  initial  i)elief  of 
the  Pentecostians  cannot  be  so  counted.  It  must  be 
followed  by  both  repentance  and  obedience. 

Thus  it  ajDpears  that  there  is  a  misfit  at  every  point. 
Nor  are  these  discrepancies  superficial  and  unimpor- 
tant. They  involve  the  very  character  of  the  faith 
itself.  Is  there,  then,  any  better  way  of  reconcili- 
ation? 

Let  it  be  observed  that  we  arrived  at  the   existence 

of  the  initial  belief,  in  this  series  of  steps  belonging  to 

the  Petrine   statement,    bv  inference.     The   inference 

404 


PAUL  S    DOCTRINE    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

was  perfectly  clear  aod  certain,  but  it  was  inference. 
The  word  believe,  belief,  or  faith  does  not  occur  in 
Peter's  language.  The  fact  of  the  existence  of  this 
initial  belief,  its  place,  and  its  character  are  reached 
b}'  pure  inference.  Now,  perhaps,  by  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  what  took  phice,  we  may  be  enabled  to  find 
something  else  in  this  transaction  by  a  method  equally 
trustworthy. 

Peter  tells  the  inquiring  multitude  to  repent  and  be 
baptized  unto  the  remission  of  their  sins.  By  placing 
remission  of  sins  in  baptism,  he  causes  the  appropri- 
ative  spiritual  act  to  take  place  there,  and  makes  bap- 
tism the  spiritual-physical  act  of  laying  hold  on  sal- 
vation, and  Christ  its  Author.  Or  rather,  since  the 
physical  part  belongs  alone  to  the  administrator,  bap- 
tism becomes  to  the  candidate  the  purely  spiritual  act 
of  appropriation,  at  the  point  where  the  blessing  is 
offered.  Let  there  be  no  mistake  here.  The  convert 
may  resolve  to  do  this  before,  and  may  thus  look  for- 
ward with  anticipative  trust  to  the  possession  of  this 
salvation,  but  he  appropriates  it  here.  He  does  not 
seek  to  lay  hold  on  anything  where  he  knows  it  is  not 
to  be  had.  The  appropriative  spiritual  act  is,  there- 
fore, here.  What,  now,  is  the  nature  of  this  act?  It 
is  the  beginning  of  Christian  faith, — the  faith  of  the 
Christian  life, — the  beginning  of  actual  personal 
clinging  to  Christ,  of  union  with  him.  It  is,  first,  an 
act  of  appropriation,  and  then  continues  as  possession. 
All  former  trust  has  been  the  anticipation  of  what,  by 
actual  self-surrender  and  appropriation,  has  now  be- 
come a  fact.  This  is  the  first  moment  of  personal, 
possessive  trust  in  Christ,  of  faith  as  we  find  it  in  the 
Christian  life. 

Thus,    by  a  process  of  inference  as  certain  as  that 

405 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

by  which  we  discovered  the  presence  of  the  initial 
belief,  we  reach  another  form  of  faith  in  the  Pente- 
costal conditions,  very  different  in  character  and  place 
from  that  first  considered.  As  this  stands  accredited 
by  precisely  the  same  kind  of  evidence  as  that  which 
supports  the  other,  why  seek  to  find  the  secret  link 
with  which  to  reconcile  the  Pentecostal  statement  with 
that  of  the  argument  in  Romans,  in  one  of  these  forms 
of  faith  rather  than  in  the  other?  If  the  last  form  be 
supposed  to  be  the  one  which  Paul  has  specially  in 
mind  in  his  argument  on  justification,  we  shall  have 
the  following  concordances: 

1.  This  faith  is  ti'usf^  the  permanent  trust  of  Chris- 
tian life;  Abraham's  faith  to  which  Paul  refers,  was 
trust,  and  the  permanent  trust  of  his  life.  No  other 
elements  are  added  to  the  faith  afterward,  in  either 
case.  We  have  in  each  case  not  one  of  the  constit- 
uent elements  of  faith,  but  the  finished  product. 

2.  This  faith  springs  out  of  a  loyal  heart,  a  heart 
made  loyal  by  repentance;  Abraham's  faith  sprang 
out  of  a  loyal  heart. 

3.  This  faith  is  not  followed  by  repentance;  Abra- 
ham's was  not. 

4.  This  faith  comes  later  than  that  belief  which 
constitutes  the  first  knowledge  of  Christ  in  his  true 
character;  Abraham's  faith  that  was  said  to  be  reck- 
oned for  righteousness  came  later  than  his  first  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God. 

5.  This  faith  brings  remission  of  sins  immediate- 
ly; Abraham's  faith  was  co'unted  for  righteousness 
immediately. 

6.  Paul   puts   justification,  with   death   to  sin,  in 

baptism  (Rom.  vi.  7);    Peter  puts  remission  of  sins 

in  baptism. 

^  406 


PAUL  S    DOCTRINE    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

7.  Paul  teaches  that  we  become  sous  of  God  by 
putting  on  Christ  in  baptism  (Gal.  iii.  27),  and  that, 
because  of  this,  the  spirit  of  adoption  is  bestowed 
(ch.  iv.  6);  Peter  teaches  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  follows  upon  baptism  (Acts  ii.  38). 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  attempt  to  find  a  bond  of 
harmony  between  these  two  forms  of  statement, 
through  the  initial  belief  of  the  understanding, 
which  takes  place  before  repentance,  involves  diffi- 
culties at  every  point;  while,  by  making  this  final 
form  of  faith  in  conversion  the  basis  of  reconciliation, 
perfect  harmony  in  every  particular  is  reached.  Can 
there  then  remain  any  doubt  along  which  of  these 
lines  the  adjustment  between  these  two  forms  of 
statement  is  to  be  sought? 

§  2.     The  Second  Method. 

Another  method  of  reconciliation  is  that  adopted 
by  those  who  regard  faith  as  reaching  its  consumma- 
tion before  baptism,  and  as  being  the  sole  condition 
of  justification. 

Those  who  take  this  view  are  wont  to  derive  their 
conclusion  directly  from  Paul's  argument  on  justifica- 
tion, and  to  seek  to  interpret  all  other  passages  in 
harmony  with  the  supposed  teaching  of  this.  While 
the  position  just  considered  starts  from  Acts  ii.  38, 
this  starts  from  Rom.  iii.  and  iv.  It  is  held  that 
Paul  makes  faith  the  only  condition  of  justification; 
that  he  mentions  no  other;  and  that,  in  selecting  his 
typical  example — and  the  fundamental  proof  of  his 
position — out  of  the  Old  Testament  history,  he 
chooses  the  one  case  in  which  faith,  without  being 
followed   by   any   subsequent  act,    was   counted    for 

righteousness.     As  the  counting  of  Abraham's  faith 

407 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

for  righteousness  took  place  immediately,  without 
waiting  for  any  subsequent  act,  and  as  baptism  is  re- 
garded as  taking  place  after  the  act  of  believing  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  therefore  ruled  out  as  a 
condition  of  justification.  As  this  is  regarded  as 
being  ckarly  Paul's  teaching,  it  is  held  that  the  lan- 
guage of  no  inspired  writer  must  be  so  construed  as 
to  conflict  with  it. 

Now  Peter's  statement  to  the  inquiring  multitude 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was:  ''Repent  ye,  and  be 
baptized  ev^ery  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins;  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  (Acts  ii.  38). 
In  the  phrase  "unto  the  remission  of  your  sins,"  the 
Greek  word  rendered  *'unto"  is  eh,  and  its  common 
meaning  is  into,  unto,  or  in  order  to.  As  this  is  in- 
consistent with  the  position  assumed,  there  are  sever- 
al methods  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
this  sense.  One  of  these  is  to  give  cU  the  sense  of 
*'because  of,"  thus  making  baptism  because  of,  instead 
of  in  order  to,  the  remission  of  sins.  This  meaning 
of  €ts  is  not  recognized  by  the  world's  scholarship,  but 
it  is  thought  to  be  justified  by  Mt.  iii.  11,  where  it  is 
held  that  it  must  have  that  meaning,  inasmuch  as 
baptism  cannot  be  in  order  to,  but  must  be  because  of, 
repentance.  But,  as  it  has  been  shown  that  ets,  when 
taken  in  its  recognized  sense  of  unto  or  in  cinder  to  in 
this  passage,  not  only  gives  a  good  sense,  but  ex- 
presses  most  happily  the  exact  state  of  the  case,  the 
argument  drawn  from  this  source  is  without  force. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  the  lack  of  linguistic 
support  for  this   meaning  of  ets,  and  the  difficulty  of 

fitting  it  into  the  passage,  have  caused  it  to  be  aban- 

408 


PAUL  S   DOCTRINE    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

doned  in  favor  of  another  rendering.*  It  is  pro- 
posed to  give  CIS  the  sense  of  *'with  respect  to," 
which  is  found  among  the  remote  meanings  of  the 
word  in  the  lexicons,  and  understand  this  '*with  re- 
spect to"  as  meaning  because  of,  "With  respect  to" 
gives  us  no  information  regarding  the  relation  of 
baptism  to  remission  of  sins,  and  leaves  us  free  to 
understand  any  sense  we  choose,  provided  we  can 
make  it  tally  with  the  context.  As  the  phrase  witJi 
respect  to  does  not  convey  the  meaning  because  o/,  nor 
even  hint  at  it,  the  question  arises.  Can  we  get  it  out 
of  the  context?  Peter's  language  in  Acts  ii.  38  is  in 
answer  to  the  question  of  the  multitude,  **What  shall 
we  do?"  in  v.  37;  and  this  agonizing  question  sprang 
out  of,  and  had  reference  to,  the  guilt  that  Peter  had 
charged  upon  them  in  v.  36.  They  are  asking,  there- 
fore, what  they  must  do  to  be  free  from  their  guilt. 
Peter's  answer  is,  that  they  shall  repent  and  be  bap- 
tized with  respect  to  this  object,  in  which  case  with  re- 
spect to  would  clearly  have  the  force  of  in  order  to. 
By  no  possibility  could  Peter's  hearers  understand 
with  respect  to  to  mean  because  of  remission,  unless 
they  already  knew  that  repentance  was  the  only  con- 
dition of  remission.  This  they  could  not  know  or 
think,  for  it  was  not  so  in  the  Jewish  law.  They  did 
not  know  it,  or  they  would  not  have  needed  to  ask 
him  what  to  do.  Further,  we  may  say  that  they  did 
know  that  repentance  was  a  condition  of  remission, 
and  their  only  reason  for  asking  him  what  to  do  was 
the  supposition  that  there  might  be  some  other  con- 
dition ;  and  thus  they  were  prepared  to  hear  Peter 
mention  some  added  condition.     When,  therefore,  he 


*  See  a  pamphlet  by  Dr.   Ivasher  entitled,    *' IVhat  Did  Peter 
Mean?'' 

409 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

commands  them  to  repent  and  be  baptized  with  re- 
spect to  the  remission  of  their  sins,  knowing  as  they 
do  that  they  are  now  guilty,  there  can  be  but  one  un- 
derstanding of  his  hxnguage,  viz.,  that  they  are  to  re- 
pent and  be  baptized  in  order  to  remission.  Thus, 
while  the  linguistic  warrant  for  ivifh  respect  to  is 
better  than  that  for  because  of,  it  fails  to  give  the 
sense  because  of  itself,  and  the  context  not  only  does 
not  furnish  it,  but  absolutely  rules  it  out.  But  the 
linguistic  warrant  for  rendering  ek  by  ivifh  respect  to  in 
this  passage  is  not  good.  It  does  not  follow  because 
a  certain  meaning  can  be  found  in  the  remote  senses 
of  a  w^ord,  that  we  are  at  liberty  to  read  it  into  any 
place  we  choose.  Now,  none  of  the  translations,  or 
lexicons,  or  grammars  render  ets  in  this  passage  by 
with  respect  to,  but  our  great  standard  authorities  all 
render  it  by  some  term  having  the  force  of  unto  or  i7i 
order  to.  This  proposed  rendering  is  without  support 
of  the  world's  scholarship. 

Another  method  by  which  it  is  sought  to  avoid  the 
sense  of  in  order  to  remission,  is  to  allow  eis  its  or- 
dinary telic  sense, — unto  or  in  order  to, — but  take  the 
phrase  as  meaning  to  be  baptized  unto  or  into  the  pro- 
fession of  the  belief  and  reception  of  the  doctrine  that 
reynission  of  sins  is  granted  througli  Christ.*  So  re- 
mote is  this  from  anything  that  Peter's  words  can 
convey,  that  we  should  find  it  hard  to  believe  that 
it  was  not  travesty  did  we  not  know  that  it  was 
seriously  advocated,  and  that  it  draws  its  author- 
ity from  a  supposed  necessary  meaning  of  Mt.  iii.  11. 
It  is  held  that  eis  must  mean  unto,  and  that,  as  John 
could  not  have  baptized  the  people   unto  repentance, 

*  vSee  Campbell  and  Rice  Debate,  pp.  489,  500,  and  Braden  and 
Hughey  Debate,  pp.  207,  235. 

410 


PAUL  S    DOCTRINE    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

he  must  have  baptized  them  uuto  the  profession  of 
repentance;  and  it  is  sought  to  explain  the  language 
of  Acts  ii.  38,  in  a  similar  way.  But  when  it  is  seen 
that  there  is  no  need  of  resorting  to  such  an  extreme 
alternative  in  Mt.  iii.  11,  all  shadow  of  probability 
vanishes  from  this  proposed  interpretation  of  Acts  ii. 
38,  and  its  mere  announcement  becomes  its  refutation. 
There  is  no  stronger  evidence  that  Peter's  language 
in  this  passage  makes  baptism  a  condition  of  remission 
of  sins  than  that  its  denial  involves  such  desperate 
alternatives. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  state  a  few  facts  which  I 
think  none  will  be  disposed  to  question. 

1.  For  centuries,  the  word  ets  in  Acts  ii.  38,  was 
translated  in  our  authorized  version  by  the  preposi- 
tion "for,"  a  word  which  may  mean  either  because  of 
or  in  order  to.  In  the  Revised  Version,  which  repre- 
sents the  present  scholarship  of  the  English  speaking 
world,  the  word  "for"  has  been  replaced  by  "unto," 
a  word  which  does  not  signify  because  of.  The  Eng- 
lish revisers  worked  in  co-operation  with  an  American 
committee.  After  carefully  comparing  notes,  if  there 
was  finally  any  disagreement  between  the  two  com- 
mittees, the  American  committee  embodied  its  view 
in  certain  supplementary  notes,  which  are  found  at 
the  end  of  the  volume.  Now,  in  the  substitution  of 
"unto"  for  "for"  in  this  passage  the  English  and 
American  committees  were  in  entire  accord;  hence  the 
decision  of  the  representative  scholarship  of  both 
continents,  as  late  as  the  year  1881,  was  not  that  eis 
means  because  of,  or  any  word  which  could  be  so  con- 
strued, but  unto. 

Again,  in  making  their  revision  there   were   many 

411 


MOKAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

cases  in  which  the  meaning  was  not  absolutely  certain; 
and,  while  one  of  two  or  more  meanings  was  pre- 
ferred by  the  committees,  the  other  meanings,  being 
regarded  as  having  some  probability  in  their  favor, 
were  inserted  in  the  margin,  giving  the  reader  the  ben- 
efit of  both  renderings.  But  no  alternative  marginal 
reading  was  thought,  by  either  the  English  or  the 
American  committee,  to  be  required  in  the  translation 
of  ets  in  this  passage.  Thus,  as  late  as  1881,  the  repre- 
sentative English  scholarship  of  both  continents,  after 
careful  research,  determined  without  hesitation  or 
doubt  that   the  preposition  ek  in  this  passage  means 

U7l(0, 

2.  The  American  Bible  Union  (Baptist),  whose 
version  appeared  some  years  before,  also  rendered  this 
preposition  by  the  same  word,  unto. 

3.  Many  scholarly  commentators,  of  different  na- 
tions, render  the  word  by  uiito  or  by  some  equivalent 
term,  and  construe  the  passage  so  as  to  make  baptism 
a  condition  of  the  remission  of  sins.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  Meyer,  who  says  that  "eis  denotes 
the  object  of  the  baptism,  which  is  the  remission 
of  the  guilt  contracted  in  the  state  before  /xeravota" 
(repentance),  and  Lange's  Commentary^  which  says 
concerning  this  passage:  '^Baptism  is  a  divine  act,  in 
so  far  as  God  separates  the  individual  from  a  per- 
verse and  sinful  generation,  remits  his  sins,  and  be- 
stows the  Holy  Ghost  upon  him."  Dr.  Hackett,  the 
noted  Baptist  commentator,  renders  the  phrase  by  the 
words  ''Hn  oi^der  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins,' ^  and  says: 
'*We  connect  naturally  with  both  the  preceding  verbs. 
This  clause  states  the  motive  or  object  which   should 

induce  them  to  repent  and  be  l)aptized.     It  enforces 

412 


PAUL  S    DOCTRINE    OF   JUSTIFICATION 

the  entire  exhortation,  not  one  part  of  it  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  other."* 

The  late  Prof.  Robert  T.  Mathews,  formerly  Dean 
of  the  Bible  College  of  Drake  University,  in  1876 
wrote  to  professors  in  eight  leading  colleges  and  uni- 
versities in  this  country,  asking  the  following  ques- 
tion: ''Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  your  transla- 
tion of  the  preposition  ck  in  Acts  ii.  38,  and  your 
opinion,  as  a  Greek  scholar,  as  to  what  grammatical 
relation  it  expresses  between  the  predicates  of  the 
verse  and  the  phrase  aphesin  hamartionf  I  shall  be 
obliged  for  your  answer  in  the  light  of  scholarship, 
aside  from  all  theological  applications  of  the  verse." 
From  the  answers  received  I  make  the  following  ex- 
tracts :  t 

Prof.  Tyler,  of  Amherst,  would  express  the  sense 
of  the  passage  thus:  "Kepent  and  let  every  one  of  you 
be  baptized  to  the  end  that  your  sins  may  be  forgiven." 

Prof.  N.'  C.  Cameron,  of  Princeton,  says:  "The 
preposition  ets,  in  Acts  ii.  38,  is  evidently  used  in  its 
final  sense,  and  the  phrase  is  clearly  connected  with 
metaiioesate  hai  haptistheti  (repent  and  be  baptized) 
as  the  end  to  which  repentance  and  baptism  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  led." 

Prof.  Packard,  of  Yale  University,  would  translate 
the  clause  classically  so  as  to  read,  ^^ to  the  end  of  yq- 
mission  of  sins,"  and  says:  *'It  would  then  mako 
aphemn  haniartion  [remission  of  sins]  an  object  aimed 
at,  or  a  result  attained  by  the  acts  denoted  by  the 
verbs." 


*  Com.  on  Acts^  in  loco. 

j  These  answers  may  be  found  in  the  able  work  of  L.  B. 
Wilkes  on  Designs  of  Christian  Baptism,  p.  188,  from  which 
these  extracts  are  taken.     The  quotations  are  not  in  full. 

413 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

Prof.  Foster,  of  Colby,  says  that  the  word  here  has 
the  force  of  '*  'unto,'  'in  order  to,'  'for  the  sake  of,' 
indicating  a  result  to  be  attained  and  that  it  connects 
the  phrase  apJtesin  hamartion  with  both  the  forego- 
ing imperative  verbs,  alike  grammatically  considered, 
though,  on  other  grounds,  I  shall  say  specially  with 
the  first,  since  pardon  is  nowh^-e  offered  on  condition 
of  baptism  alone,  while  it  is  on  that  of  repentance." 

Prof.  D'Ooge,  of  Ann  Arbor,  says  that  "ets,  in  the 
verse  referred  to,  expresses  the  relation  of  aim  or  end 
in  view"  and  he  would  translate  it  "unto,"  "in  order 
to,"  "for."  He  further  says:  "This  sense  of  ets,  as 
you  doubtless  know,  is  recognized  by  Liddell  and 
Scott  for  classical,  by  Winer,  for  New  Testament, 
usage." 

Prof.  Flagg,  of  Cornell,  says  that  «?  in  this  passage 
"denoted  intention  or  purpose,  'with  a  view  to'  much 
as  if  it  had  been  written,  'so  as  to  obtain  remission  of 
sins.'  "  This  is  his  view  from  the  standpoint  of 
classical  Greek. 

Prof.  Proctor,  of  Dartmouth  College,  says:  "It  is 
my  opinion  thateis  is  to  be  connected  with  both  predi- 
cates, and  that  it  denotes  an  object  or  end  in  view." 

Prof.  Harkness,  of  Brown  University,  says:  "In  my 
opinion  eis,  in  Acts  ii.  38,  denotes  purpose^  and  may 
be  rendered  'in  order  to,'  or  'for  the  purpose  of 
receiving,'  or,  as  in  our  English  version,  'for.'  ^Eis 
aphesin  haiaartion''  suggests  the  motive  or  object 
contemplated  in  the  action  of  the  two  preceding 
verbs." 

The  view  of  Prof.    Thayer,  of  Harvard,  is  probably 

reflected  in  his  N.    T.    Greek  Lexicon^  from  which  I 

quote  under  the  next  head. 

4.     The  great   standard    lexicons  give  the  word  the 

414 


PAUL  S    DOCTRINI-:    OF    JUSTIFICATION 

same  !iie;ining.  Regarding  this  i)assage,  Tha3^er's  iV. 
T.  Greek  Lexicon  says,  "  ei?  acfiea-iv  dfxapTLwv,  to  obtain 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  Acts  ii.  38." 

Cremer's  Biblico- Theological  Lexicon  of  iV".  T. 
Greek  siiys:  "By  /SaTm^eLv  therefore  we  must  under- 
stand a  washing  whose  d^sign^  like  that  of  the  theo- 
cratic washings  and  purifications,  was  to  purge  aicay 
sin  ivom  him  on  whom  it  was  performed."  Among 
other  citations  under  this  head  he  refers  to  Acts  ii.  38. 

To  this  I  may  add  that  Winer,  in  his  Grammar  of 
N".  T.  Greek,  represents  eis  in  this  passage  as  denot- 
ing "the  purpose  and  end  in  view."* 

These  citations  present  an  ample  array  of  the  ripest 
scholarship  of  our  time.  On  their  bearing  I  need 
not  pause  to  dwell,  and  shall  proceed  to  add  to  them 
another  class  of  facts,  drawn  from  quite  a  different 
source. t 


♦Grammar,  §  49,  c.  s.  p.  397. 

fSince  writing  the  above  the  question  has  appeared  in  the 
query  department  of  The  Biblical  World,  edited  by  William  R. 
Harper,  President  of  Chicago  University. 

The  query  was:  "(1)  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  prepo- 
sition els  in  Mt.  10:41,  12:41;  Rom.  4:Z0?  (2)  If  the  preposition 
in  these  cases  looks  to  things  already  received  or  done,  is  there 
any  grammatical  reason  why  it  should  not  so  look  to  repentance, 
in  Mt.  iii.  11,  and  in  Acts  ii.  38?" 

The  answers  given  are  as  follows:  "(1)  The  preposition 
means  'at,'  'looking  at';  is  nearly  equivalent  to  'in  reponse  to.' 
(2)  There  is  no  strictly  grammatical  reason  why  it  should  not 
have  the  same  force  in  Mt.  iii.  11,  and  Acts  ii,  38;  but  the  telic 
force  is  so  much  more  common,  and  so  much  more  obvious  in 
these  latter  cases,  that  the  writer  would  probably  have  chosen 
some  other  form  of  expression,  less  open  to  misunderstanding, 
if  he  had  desired  to  express  the  idea  you  suggest.  It  is  a  gen- 
eral principle  of  interprelation,  that  an  unusual  sense  must  not 
be  given  to  a  word  in  a  connection  in  which  the  usual  sense  is 
more  appropriate  and  more  obvious,  because  it  is  the  habit  of 
men  in  luriting  or  speaking  to  avoid  using  a  word  in  an  unusual 
sense  where  a  more  usual  is  obviously  suggested.  To  do  other- 
wise in  speaking  would  be  to  expose  oneself  to  not  only  the 
danger,  but   almost   the   certainty,  of  being  misunderstood.     To 

415 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

On  Peter's  confession  of  the  Messiahship  and  di- 
vinit}^  of  Jesus,  he  was  told  (Mt.  xvi.  19)  that  unto 
him  should  be  given  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ; 
and,  in  pursuance  of  this  promise,  it  was  Peter  who 
opened  the  kingdom  to  the  Jewish  people  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  and  later,  through  miraculous  guidance, 
to  the  Gentiles,  at  the  household  of  Cornelius.  After 
the  commission  had  been  given,  just  before  Christ 
ascended  to  heaven,  the  apostles  were  not  permitted  to 
undertake  its  execution  until  they  were  miraculously 
endowed  by  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  i.  4, 
5).  They  were  not  permitted  to  open  the  doors  of 
the  kingdom  to  men,  until  they  could  do  so  under  the 
guidance  of  inspiration,  and  they  were  required  to 
wait.  Why  must  they  wait?  We  are  riot  told,  but  in 
the  counsels  of  Heaven  there  was  a  reason.  The  time 
actually  chosen  for  the  manifestation  of  this  great 
miracle  and  the  fulfillment  of  Joel's  prophecy,  was 
the  great  Pentecostal  gathering,  when  the  represen- 
tatives of  fifteen  nations  might  behold  the  miracle 
and  hear  the  first  gospel  sermon  from  the  lips  of  an 
apostle,  and  carry  that  gospel,  so  attested,  to  their 
homes  in  distant   lands. 

Thus  qualified  by  divine  inspiration,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  promise  of  Christ,  Peter  preaches 
the  sermon  on  that  occasion — the  most  epochal  ser- 
mon ever  preached,  unless  it  be  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  He  concludes  his  sermon  with  these  words: 
"Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  therefore  know  assuredly, 
that  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ,  this 
Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified"  (Acts  ii.  36).  Like  a 
dart   this  sentence   pierces  the  souls  of   thousands; 

do  otherwise  in  interpretation  is  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the  rules 
of  interpretation  are  simply  the  converse  of  the  habits  of  q^- 
Tivession.''— Biblical  World,  Feb.,  1899,  p.  141. 

416 


Paul's  doctrixe  of  justification 

and  in  terror  and  remorse  they  cry  out,  "Brethren, 
what  shall  we  do?"  A  vast  multitude  were  knocking 
at  the  door  of  the  kingdom,  but  they  had  not  entered, 
and  did  not  know  how  to  enter.  One  more  sentence 
(Acts  ii.  38),  and  they  enter.  That  sentence  was  the 
KEY  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.^  From  that  hour  it 
was  carried  all  over  the  world.  It  was  the  typical 
answer  for  the  convicted  inquirer,  for  all  nations  and 
through  all  time.  If  it  be  not  correct,  or  be  mislead- 
ing in  statement,  irreparable  mischief  was  done,  and 
on  an  immense  scale. 

Now  let  us  notice  some  other  facts  regarding  this 
epochal  sentence,  this  key  to  the  kingdom. 

For  several  centuries  in  our  standard  translation 
(the  Authorized  Version)  the  word  cts  in  this  passage 
has  been  represented  by  the  English  word  "for," — 
"/by  the  remission  of  sins."  Now,  by  turning  to 
Webster's  International  Dictionary  we  find  the  follow- 
ing given  as  the  primary  definition  of /or.*  "Indicating 
the  antecedent  cause  or  occasion  of  an  action;  the 
motive  or  inducement  accompanying  and  prompting 
to  an  act  or  state;  the  reason  of  anything;  that  on 
account  of  which  a  thing  is  or  is  done."  Of  these 
statements  of  the  primary  sense"  of  for  it  is  clear 
that  the  first  has  the  meaning  of  because  of.  Were 
there  any  doubt  of  this  it  would  be  removed  by  noting 
the  first  example  quoted  under  this  definition,  "With 
fiery  eyes  sparkling  for  very  wrath."    It  is  evident  that 


*Says  Alford:  "Another  personal  promise  to  Peter,  remarkably 
fulfilled  in  his  being  the  first  to  admit  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
into  the  church;  thus  using  the  power  of  the  keys  to  open  the 
door  of  salvation." — See  Ivange's  Com.,  in  loco. 

While  it  is  probable  that  this  promise  to  give  Peter  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  refers  to  the  general  fact  that  he  was  to  open  it 
to  men,  it  is  yet  true,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  it  was  by  this  one 
sentence  that  he  opened  it, 

27  417 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECrS    OF    BAPTISM 

the  "sparkling"  is  because  of  the  '* wrath."  This, 
therefore,  is  a  primary  meaning  of  tlie  word /or.  The 
second  definition  is  this:  "Indicating  the  remoter  and 
indirect  object  of  an  act;  tiie  end  or  final  cause  with 
reference  to  which  anything  is,  acts,  serves,  or  is 
done."  Here  we  have  the  sense  in  order  to^  but  it  is 
a  secondary  sense  of  the  word.  Because  of,  therefore, 
is  the  primary  meaning  of  for*,  while  in  order  to  is  a 
secondary  meaning.  Now,  it  is  not  held  by  those 
who  think  that  f.k  means  because  of  in  Acts  ii.  38,  that 
such  is  its  primary  or  leading  sense,  nor  even  that  it 
is  its  secondary  or  even  tertiary  sense;  but  that  in  a 
very  few  exceptional  cases  it  has  this  meaning. 

Hence  it  is  clear  that  this  rendering  of  the  word  by 
**for"  is  far  more  favorable  to  the  meaning  because  of 
than  is  the  original  word  ci?. 

Now,  in  connection  with  this  advantage  gained  by 
the  use  of  this  ambiguous  word  in  the  A.  V.,  which 
was  for  so  long  the  standard  version  of  the  people,  let 
us  note  one  remarkable  fact:  This  answer  of  Peter 
was  never  given  to  inquirers  by  those  iclio  held  that  re- 
mission of  sins  precedes  baptism.  How  is  this  ex- 
plained? A  translation  confessedly  more  favorable 
to  this  view  than  the  original  itself — and  yet  the  di- 
vinely authorized  key  to  the  kingdom — the  official 
answer  designed  for  that  very  purpose — can  not  be 
given  to  inquirers !  The  first  and  official  answer  to 
inquirers,  uttered  in  the  ear  of  all  nations,  can  not  now 
be  used  in  the  inquiry  room.  I  do  not  mean  that  it  is 
simply  overlooked  or  neglected,  but  that  it  must  be 
positively  ruled  oiU.  Is  this  statement  correct?  The 
writer's  own  personal  ministry  dates  back  more  than 
thirty  years.   During  this  time  he  has  never  known  of  a 

*The  Standard  Dictionary  also  places  this  definition  first. 

418 


PAUL  .S    DOf'TRIXE    OF    Jl'STIFICATIOX 

case  where  this  answer  was  given  to  inquirers  b}' those 
holding  this  view;  but  a  number  of  cases  have  come 
to  his  knowledge  in  which  it  was  positively  declined. 
I  am  credibly  informed  that  Mr.  Moody  never  gave 
this  answer  to  inquirers,  and  that,  on  various  occa- 
sions when  requested  to  do  so,  he  positively  declined.* 
I  believe  that  the  general  fact  here  stated  will  not  be 
disputed,  and  it  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  dwell 
upon  it.  That  its  full  significance  and  bearing  are 
not  realized,  I  cannot  doubt.  The  situation  is  truly 
a  surprising  one.  Peter's  answer  to  the  Pentecostians 
was  inspiy-edj  it  was  official;  it  was  designed  for  in- 
qmre7\s  and  for  no  other  class;  it  was  uttered  to  the 
commoyi  ])eople^  in  a  public  assembly,  and  addressed 
to  the  level  common  sense  of  mankind — and  yet  it 
cannot  be  trusted  now  in  precisely  the  same  situation, 
even  when  translated  so  as  unduly  to  favor  the  pre- 
vailing view. 

It  seems  to  be  felt  that  this  language,  if  uttered  be- 
fore a  popular  audience,  or  in  the  inquiry  room, 
would  be  misleading.  Yet  it  was  uttered  by  Peter 
before  a  popular  audience  of  inquirers,  and,  if  it  can- 
not now  be  used  in  the  same  position,  even  with  an 
unduly  favoring  translation,  without  misleading  the 
people,  is  there  any  escape  from  the'  conclusion  that 
Peter — wittingly  or  unwittingly — misled  the  Jewish 
people,  and  through  them,  the  fifteen  nations  among 
whom  his  message  was  borne  by  his  auditors?  In  all 
candor,  does  not  a  position  which  involves  such  an 
alternative  need  reconsidering? 

Within   the   last   generation  there  have   been    two 


*See  Christian  Standard,  Cincinnati,  bearing  date  of  Apr.  3, 
1897,  where  two  instances  of  such  declination  are  related  and 
vouched  for. 

419 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

gi'eat  translations — that  of  the  American  Bible  Union, 
under  Baptist  auspices,  and  the  Revised  Version,  un- 
denominational. Yet  so  overwhelmingly  does  the 
construction  of  this  passage  point  to  baptism  as  a  con- 
dition of  the  remission  of  sins,  that  neither  in  the  old 
translation,  nor  in  either  of  these  versions,  can  the 
passage  be  used  by  those  holding  to  pre-baptismal 
remission.  There  still  remains  but  one  thing  to  do — 
to  exclude  it  from  its  appointed  use.* 

Under  no  translation  which  the  scholarship  of  the 
world  will  sanction  can  that  official  utterance  of 
Peter,  which  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the 
world,  be  used  for  a  like  purpose  now.  The  ques- 
tions which  press  about  this  surprising  fact  are  very 
urgent.  All  cannot  be  right  when  such  a  momentous 
utterance  as  this  must  be  silenced.  No  doubt  it  is 
felt  by  those  who  adopt  this  method  of  adjustment 
betw^een  the  teachings  of  Paul  on  justification  and 
the  language  of  Peter  in  this  passage,  that  this  is  pre- 
ferable to  any  view  which  would  suspend  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  on  the  performance  of  a  mere  ceremony; 
but  can  any  one  claim  that  a  method  of  adjustment 
which  involves  such  consequences  is  entirely  satis- 
factory? A  choice  betvveen  two  evils  we  must 
make  when  we  cannot  do  better,  but  such  a  situation 
generally  points  to  a  need  of  more  light.  Is  there 
not  a  better  way? 

Let  us  now  suppose  another  method  to  be  adopted, 
and  note  the  result.     Let  Peter's  statement  be  taken 


*It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  overwhelming  fact  bears  not  alone 
against  that  interpretation  which  would  make  eis  mean  because 
<?/",  but  equally  against  every  explanation  which  seeks  to  place 
remission  of  sins  before  baptism.  This  apostolic  answer  must 
be  excluded  from  the  inquiry  room  by  all  classes  who  take  this 
view. 

420 


PAUL  S   DOCTRINE   OF   JUSTIFICATION 

just  as  it  reads,  giving  to  his  words  their  obvious 
meaning.  Repentance  and  baptism  will  then  be  unto, 
or  in  order  to,  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  baptism  will  be  the  final  condi- 
tion in  reaching  these  blessings.  What  is  reached 
through  baptism  is  elsewhere  described  by  Peter  as 
salvation  (1  Pet.  iii.  21,  compared  also  with  Mk. 
xvi.  16  and  Titus  iii.  5).  The  teaching  of  Peter, 
therefore,  will  be  that  baptism  is  the  final  condition 
in  reaching  remission  of  sins,  or  justification,  or, 
more  comprehensively,  salvation.  What  now  will  be 
the  effect  of  this  teaching  on  his  hearers?  It  will 
cause  the  spiritual  act  of  appropriation,  of  laying 
hold  on  Christ's  salvation — the  faith  that  saves — 
to  take  place  in  baptism.  Let  there  be  no  misunder- 
standing here.  The  candidate  has  resolved  to  do  this 
before,  but  the  mental  act  of  taking  Christ  as  his 
present  Savior — of  appropriating  his  salvation  and  of 
entering  into  union  with  him — will  take  place  where 
these  tilings  are  possible  ;  and  all  that  goes  before  will 
be,  not  factual,  but  purposive,  and  belong  to  repent- 
ance. A  lady  may  resolve  to  accede  to  a  suitor's  re- 
quest to  become  his  wife,  but  in  that  resolve  she  does 
not  take  him  as  her  husband,  but  determines  to  do 
so;  and  she  does  not  do  so,  even  mentally,  till  the 
appointed  time  when  this  shall  take  place.  This 
mental  act  then,  according  to  its  nature,  receives  ex- 
ternal investiture,  and  becomes  marriage.  This  is 
the  appropriative  act,  mentally  as  well  as  formally. 
In  Jike  manner  the  sinner,  according  to  divine  ap- 
pointment, appropriates  Christ's  salvation  when  they 
meet  and  form  their  union.  It  is  now  that  he  mental- 
ly puts  on  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  27),  this  mental  act,  like 

421 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

the  mental  act  in  marriage,  demanding  external  in- 
vestiture, and  for  analogous  reasons. 

Again,  if  a  man  be  commanded  by  God  to  perform 
a  certain  act,  and  be  told  that,  on  condition  of  doing 
so,  he  shall  be  accepted  and  pardoned,  it  is  at  that 
point  that  his  surrender  will  naturally  take  pLace. 
Any  surrender  made  while  delaying  to  obe}'  the  com- 
mand would  be  a  surrender  in  disobedience,  or  a  false 
surrender.  The  man  will  realize  that  such  a  surren- 
der cannot  be  acceptable,  and  will  refrain  from  mak- 
ing it,  but  will,  instead,  obey  the  command  as  soon 
as  possible,  thus  committing  himself  to  the  divine 
service  and  to  the  divine  care.  If  this  command 
shall  embrace  an  act  of  profession,  it  is  there  that  his 
surrender  will  take  place.  Any  surrender  made  while 
delaying  this  would  be  lacking  in  the  true  spirit  of 
obedience. 

There  could  arise  only  one  question  in  regard  to 
this,  and  that  not  relating  to  the  convert,  but  to 
God's  course  in  demanding  profession  as  a  condition 
of  pardon.  But,  as  has  already  been  shown  in  an 
earlier  part  of  this  work,  there  are  moral,  spiritual, 
and  practical  reasons  why  this  should  be  so.  Even 
though  the  person  should  not  understand  these  rea- 
sons, he  will  be  aware  of  the  divine  requirement, 
and  will  not  venture  to  offer  himself  to  God  under 
conditions  which  he  has  reason  to  believe  would  not 
be  acceptable. 

Thus  this  faith,  both  in  its  aspect  of  surrender  and 
commitment  to  Christ,  and  as  an  act  of  appropriation 
— a  laying  hold  on  Christ,  resting  in  him  as  saved, 
and  entering  into  union  with  him — will,  by  the  con- 
ditions of  Peter's  statement  of  the  gospel,  be  caused 

to  take  place  in  baptism.     It  is  there  that  receiving 

422 


PAUL  S   DOCTRINE   OF   JUSTIFICATION 

Christ  (Jno.  i.  12),  coming  to  him  (Jno.  vi.  35),  and 
obeying  him  (Jno.  iii.  36) — which  are  but  different 
names  for  believing  on  him — will  take  place.  Or,  if 
we  give  a  broader  sense  to  the  expression,  it  is  there 
that  believing  on  Christ  will  reach  its  consummation. 
The  placing  of  remission  of  sins  or  salvation,  in 
baptism,  therefore,  causes  the  appropriative  spiritual 
act  to  take  place  there,  and  baptism  for  remission  of 
sins  becomes  but  another  expression  for  justification 
by  faith.  And  when  we  reflect  that  baptism  is  simply 
and  only  a  spiritual  act  on  the  part  of  the  candidate, 
and  that  the  divine  part  in  it — the  remission  of  sins 
and  adoption  to  sonship — is  also  purely  spiritual,  we 
see  that  this  is  exactly  what  it  is — -justification  by 
faith;  faith  on  the  human  side,  justification  on  the 
divine  side.  Now,  when  we  have  reached  this  point, 
the  work  of  reconciling  Paul's  argument  on  justifica- 
tion with  Peter's  language  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
has  been  accomplished.  Difficulties  break  away  in 
every  direction.  Does  Paul  say  justification  is  by 
faith?  So  it  is.  Does  justification  come  immediately 
in  response  to  faith,  with  Abraham — the  case  from 
which  Paul  argues?  So  it  does  with  the  convert.  As 
the  heart  springs  to  God  in  this  holy  act  (faith)  the 
Divine  Father  meets  it,  Spirit  to  spirit,  and  grants 
the  blessing  (justification).  Faith  does  not  wait,  but 
at  its  birth  receives  the  kiss  of  sonship.  Justification 
is  granted  directly  to  faith. 

But  while  the  justification  is  ascribed  directly  to 
the  faith  and  takes  place  immediately,  the  very  moral 
and  spiritual  nature  of  this  faith  calls  for  investiture; 
and  the  fact  that  it  possesses  such  investiture  is  in  no 

way  inconsistent  with   Paul's  language  regarding  it. 

423 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   MORAL   ADJUSTMENT. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  examine  the  causes  leading 
up  to  the  remarkable  attitude  of  so  large  apart  of  mod- 
ern Christendom  toward  certain  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  relating  to  baptism,  as  shown  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  but  to  consider  an  influence  now  acting 
with  great  power  to  perpetuate  that  condition.  This 
influence  has  its  source  in  nothing  less  than  an  intui- 
tion of  the  human  mind,  and  is  well  expressed  by  Dr. 
McCosh  when  he  says:  ^*It  is  of  77iental,  and  mental 
acts  exclusively ^  that  the  C07iscience  judges.  It  has  no 
judgment  whatever  to  pronounce  on  a  mere  bodily 
act."*  The  conscience  has  always  spoken  thus,  but  its 
pronouncements  are  now  more  distinct  and  influential 
than  they  were  in  the  earlier  centuries.  Some  of  the 
views  held  in  certain  ages  of  the  church,  and  which 
were  not  incompatible  with  the  thought  of  their  time, 
are  utterly  repugnant  to  our  moral  sensibilities. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  long  result  of  Chris- 
tianity has  been  to  clarify  and  strengthen  man's 
moral  perceptions,  and  that  the  revolt  against  many 
things  once  tolerated,  or  even  welcomed  by  the  human 
mind,  springs  from  the  heart  of   Christianity  itself. 

Now,  if  baptism  be  regarded  as  a  mere  outward  or 
physical  act  taking  place  after  all  the  spiritual  steps 
of  conversion  have  been  taken,  the  whole  force  of  this 
pronouncement  of  our  moral  nature  will  lie  against 
it  as  a  condition  of  the  remission  of  sins.     It  is  felt 


*  Method  of  the  Divine  Government,  p.  336. 

424 


THE   MORAL    ADJUSTMENT 

to  have  no  rightful  place  among  the  conditions  of 
pardon  and  divine  acceptance.  The  difficulty  does 
not  lie  in  any  injustice  involved  in  making  a  mere 
ceremonial  act  a  condition  of  pardon,  for  pardon  is 
not  a  matter  of  justice,  but  of  clemency,  and  we  are 
saved,  if  at  all,  by  grace,  not  by  merit;  but  to  sus- 
pend so  vital  a  matter  on  so  trifling  and  arbitrary  a 
condition  is  felt  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  character 
of  a  wise  and  benevolent  God,  and  to  savor  of  the 
caprice  of  some  barbarian  ruler.  This  moral  incon- 
gruity is  hardly  less  repellent  to  our  moral  instincts 
than  a  direct  violation  of  moral  law.  This  demand 
for  ethical  consistency  in  the  conditions  of  salvation 
is  felt  by  all  classes,  and  has  given  rise  to  various 
attempts  to  find  some  statement  of  the  doctrine  of 
baptism  which  will  be  in' harmony  with  it.  The  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  have  always  taught  that  baptism  is  a 
condition  of  remission  of  sins,  and  many  of  them 
have  been  content  to  rest  in  a  "thus  saith  the  Lord," 
without  troubling  themselves  about  moral  adjust- 
ments, but  many  more  have  felt  strongly  the  weight 
of  the  moral  objection,  and  have  sought  to  relieve  its 
stress.  It  has  been  urged  that  an  act  which  springs 
from  faith  partakes  of  the  valuable  and  spiritual 
qualities  of  the  faith  which  prompts  it,  and  that, 
therefore,  it  is  just  as  worthy  to  be  made  a  condition 
of  remission  of  sins  as  the  faith  itself.  Let  this  be 
granted,  and  it  would  fail  to  prove  that  it  is  more 
worthy  than  the  faith,  so  that  what  had  already  been 
denied  to  the  faith  alone  should  be  granted  to  this. 
If  an  act  oi  faith  derives  all  its  virtue  from  the  faith 
it  exemplifies,  why  does  not  this  faith,  as  it  exists  be- 
fore the  act,  contain   all   this  virtue?    and,  if  the  act 

may  be  counted  for  righteousness  because  of  the  faith 

425 


IVIORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

from  which  it  proceeds,  why  should  not  the  faith  it- 
self be  so  counted  before  the  act?  It  must  be  shown 
that  the  act  of  faith  possesses  some  value  which  the 
faith  itself  does  not  possess,  before  any  reason  can 
be  made  to  appear  why  justification  should  be  denied 
to  faith,  but  granted  to  an  act  of  faith. 

Mr.  Campbell  in  the  McCalla  debate,  in  1823,  took 
the  position  that  persons  are  *'really  pardoned"  when 
they  believe,  but  receive  "formal  acquittal"  at  their 
baptism,  but  he  presents  the  matter  in  a  somewhat 
different  light  in  his  later  writings.*  In  the  Campbell 
and  Eice  debate,  in  1843,  his  position  was  that  he  who 
believes  *'is  justified,  is  pardoned,  has  eternal  life 
.  .  .  in  hope,  in  anticipation"  t — that  he  has  these 
blessings  *'not  in  actual  possession,  but  in  promise, 
in  expectation,  in  grant,  or  in  hope,"|  and  that  he 
comes  into  actual  possession  of  them  in  baptism. 
In  his  work  on  Baptism,  published  in  1851,  he 
makes  baptism  a  condition  of  "true,  real,  and  for- 
mal remission  of  sins"  (p.  258),  of  "justification" 
(p.  260)  of  adoption  (p.  276),  of  the  assurance  of 
pardon  (p.  260),  and  of  the  change  of  our  "spir- 
itual relations  to  the  Divine  Persons  whose  names 
are  put  upon  us  in  the  very  act"  (p.  256).  This 
embraces  about  all  that  is  usually  supposed  to  be 
connected  with  remission  of  sins,  and  seems  to  leave 
room  for  little  if  anything  more  than  a  change  of 
feeling  on  the  part  of  God  toward  the  penitent 
before  his  baptism.  There  can  be  little  objection 
to  this;  but,  if  faith  be  regarded  as  preceding  bap- 
tism, and  if  justification  be  made  to  depend,  not  on 
faith,  but  on  faith  plus  something  else  (baptism), 
it  will   not  be  easy  to  reconcile  this  with  Paul's  lan- 


*  See  Appendix  C,  p.  A:u  .      f  Ocbaic,  \}.  457.     %  ■^^•>  P-  ^"69. 

426 


THE    MORAL    ADJUSTMENT 

guage  regarding  justification  by  faith.  In  the  effort 
to  do  this  it  has  been  urged  that  faith  is  not  perfect 
till  it  issues  in  works.  James  has  said  that  Abraham's 
faith  was  **made  perfect"  by  works  when  he  offered 
up  Isaac,  and  that  it  was  then  "reckoned  unto  him  for 
righteousness"  (ch.  ii.  22,  23).  It  is  argued  that,  in 
like  manner,  the  convert's  faith  does  not  become  per- 
fect so  that  it  can  be  reckoned  for  righteousness,  until 
it  issues  in  baptism.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
James's  reference  to  the  oifering  of  Isaac  by  Abraham 
was  to  an  event  which  occurred  many  years  after 
Abraham's  faith  was  counted  for  righteousness 
(Gen.  XV,  6)  without  works,  and  that  Paul  founds 
his  entire  argument  on  this  case  in  Gen.  xv.  6,  with- 
out referring  to  the  offering  of  Isaac  at  all;  and,  if 
it  be  true  that  Abraham's  faith  was  not  '*made  per- 
fect" until  he  offered  up  Isaac,  it  will  simply  prove 
that  it  was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness  before 
it  was  made  perfect;  and  if  Abraham's  faith  was 
counted  for  righteousness  before  it  was  perfect,  the 
convert's  may  be  also.  So  the  argument  which 
assumes  that  none  but  a  perfect  faith  can  justify  is 
wholly  irrelevant.  If  Abraham's  faith  was  counted 
to  him  for  righteousness  loithout  works  before  Isaac 
was  born  (Gen.  xv.  6),  and  if  it  was  counted  for 
righteousness  many  years  after  with  works  when  he 
offered  up  Isaac  (Jas.  ii.  22),  it  follows  that  it  was  so 
counted  more  than  once;  and  Paul  chooses  that  case 
in  which  it  was  counted  for  righteousness  loitliout 
works  as  the  type  answering  to  Christian  conversion. 
Even  if  it  were  true  that  faith  could  not  be  counted 
for  righteousness  until  first  "made  perfect"  by  works, 
it  would  not  apply  to  baptism.     James  is  not  arguing 

to  induce  his  readers  to  be  l)aptizcd,  for  they  were  all 

427 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS    OF   BAPTISM 

professors  of  Christianity,  but  to  dissuade  them  from 
the  neglect  of  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life.  If  it 
be  still  thought  that,  while  he  had  no  such  thing  in 
mind,  the  principle  must  have  been  held  to  include 
baptism,  we  have  positive  evidence,  as  already  shown, 
that  baptism  was  not,  in  the  apostolic  age,  placed  in 
the  category  of  works  at  all.*  Baptism  is  not  a  work, 
but  a  purely  spiritual  act  on  the  part  of  the  candidate, 
and  that  act  appropriative  faith — the  putting  on  of 
Christ.  If,  therefore,  it  should  be  shown  that  faith 
could  not  be  counted  for  righteousness  until  first 
"made  perfect"  by  works,  it  would  simply  prove  that 
baptism  must  be  followed  by  some  work  of  righteous- 
ness before  remission  of  sins  could  be  received. 

It  is  also  urged  that  Paul  affirms  justification  of 
those  who  "walk  in  the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our 
father  Abraham  which  he  had  in  uncircumcision" 
(Rom.  iv.  12),  and  that  walking  in  Abraham's  steps 
applies  to  the  conduct  of  his  life  of  faith,  embracing 
his  deeds.  But  a  little  attention  to  the  statement  and 
its  context  will  show  this  to  be  unwarranted.  The 
walking  is  not  in  the  steps  of  Abraham's  deeds,  but  of 
his  faith;  and  Paul  is  particular  to  state  that  he  is 
referring  to  an  event  in  Abraham's  life  anterior  to 
his  circumcision,  one  which  took  place  long  before  the 
offering  of  Isaac.  Paul  has  not  this  event,  nor  even 
this  period  of  Abraham's  life,  in  mind  in  his  argu- 
ment on  justification.  Then,  Paul  particularizes  still 
farther  in  the  context.  In  verse  3  he  quotes  the  lan- 
guage of  Gen.  XV.  6:  "Abraham  believed  God,  and  it 
was  reckoned  unto  him  for  righteousness,"  and  pro- 
ceeds to  argue  directly  from  this.  In  verse  9  he  refers 
to  the  same  passage  again,  and  then  proceeds  to  show 

*  See  Titus  iii.  5. 

428 


THE    MORAL   ADJUSTMENT 

that  this  reckoning  of  faith  for  righteousness  oc- 
curred befor6  Abraham's  circumcision;  then  he 
announces  the  purpose  of  circumcision,  and  concludes 
that  Abraham,  by  the  priority  of  this  faith  to  circum- 
cision, became  the  father  not  only  of  them  of  the  cir- 
cumcision, but  also  of  all  those  who  "walk  in  the 
steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham  which  he 
had  in  uncircumcision."  Paul  is  arguing  directly 
from  this  one  passage  in  Gen.  xv.  6,  and  not  only 
refers  to  nothing  else,  but  shows  by  continued  refer- 
ence that  he  has  nothing  else  in  mind.  To  bring  in 
the  case  which  James  refers  to  regarding  the  offering 
of  Isaac,  which  Paul  specially  excludes,  or  to  push 
back  the  reference  to  Abraham's  call,  recorded  in 
Gen.  xii.  and  referred  to  in  Heb.  xi.  8,  is  of  the 
nature  of  evasion  rather  than  of  interpretation.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  argument  of  those  who  have 
been  wont  to  reason  so  clearly  and  convincingly  in 
most  of  their  deductions  from  the  Scriptures,  has 
always  labored  at  this  point.  Evasion  has  taken  the 
plac«  of  clear  and  forceful  argument,  revealing  some 
latent  weakness  in  the  position  taken.  So  far  as  my 
observation  extends,  those  who  hold  that  baptism  is  a 
condition  of  the  remission  of  sins,  have  little  use  for 
Gen.  XV.  6,  w^hile  those  who  deny  this  have  no  use 
for  Acts  ii.  38  and  kindred  passages.  Things  do  not 
seem  satisfactory  from  either  point  of  view.  Any 
effort  to  bring  works  in  as  any  part  of  Paul's  condi- 
tion of  the  justification  of  the  sinner,  must  hopelessly 
fail;  and  if  it  could  succeed  it  would  have  no  appli- 
cation to  baptism,  which  Paul  denies  to  be  a  work, 
and  which  is  in  reality  nothing  but  a  spiritual  act  on 
the  part  of  the  candidate,  and  that  act  appropriative 

faith  itself. 

429 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

Another  means  by  which  it  is  sought  to  avoid  the 
moral  incongruity  of  making  a  mere  physical  or  cere- 
monial act  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins  consists  in 
removing  baptism  entirely  from  the  conditions  of 
remission  and  making  it  a  sequent  to  justification. 
This  view,  which  has  been  adopted  by  so  large  a  part 
of  Protestant  Christendom,  involves  not  only  serious 
difficulties  of  interpretation,  as  before  shown,  but  a 
moral  difficulty  also.  In  seeking  to  escape  moral 
incongruity  it  runs  into  a  breach  of  moral  law;  for 
baptism  is  not  a  mere  physical  or  ceremonial  act,  but 
a  'moral  act,  and  a  moral  act  of  such  character  that  its 
postponement  for  a  single  day — unless  its  perform- 
ance be  impossible — involves  a  continuance  in  sin. 
Baptism,  as  the  great  act  of  Christian  profession,  is 
(with  the  verbal  confession  which  goes  with  it)  the 
means  of  stopping  the  perpetuation  of  one  of  the  sins 
of  the  past  life;  and,  as  it  can  usually  be  performed 
very  speedily,  the  doctrine  that  the  penitent  may  be 
pardoned  immediately  on  his  acceptance  of  Christ, 
before  baptism,  and  that  he  may  then  select  his  own 
time  for  making  a  profession  somewhere  in  the  early 
future,  involves  the  fact  of  pardon  while  the  subject 
is  still  continuing  in  sin.  This  view  carries  the 
*'method  of  inwardness"  to  the  point  of  a  breach  of 
moral  law. 

But  if  these  methods  of  adjustment  are  not  satis- 
factory, the  question  returns.  How  shall  we  bring  the 
conditions  of  salvation  into  accord  with  the  principles 
of  moral  law?  If  our  meaning  be  that  the  conditions 
of  remission  of  sins  shall  be  made  entirely  ethical^  this 
cannot  be  done  without  destroying  Christianity;  if  it 
be  that  they  shall  be  brought  into  harmony  with  moral 

law,  this  is  easily  done,  and  has  already  been  done  in 

430 


THE    MORAL    ADJLSTMP:NT 

the  gospel  as  it  now  stands.  If  our  object  be  to 
make  the  conditions  of  salvation  entirely  ethical, 
we  shall  find  it  necessary  to  exclude,  not  only  bap- 
tism, but  faith  in  Christ  also,  from  those  condi- 
tions. The  only  condition  of  remission  which  moral 
law  imperatively  demands  is  repentance  *  To  remit  a 
man's  sins  while  he  is  still  clinging  to  them,  and 
determined  to  continue  them,  would  be  immoral.  It 
would  be  to-  acquiesce  in  his  sin,  and  give  it  encour- 
agement. On  the  other  hand,  moral  law  lays  no 
requirement  on  a  man  but  that  he  be  earnestly  intent 
on  doing  right,  and  that  he  do  it.  But  conscience 
founds  its  judgment,  as  we  have  seen,  not  on  the 
external  act,  but  on  the  mental  state  from  which  that 
act  proceeds;  and  as  repentance  puts  a  man  into  the 
right-doing  mental  state,  conscience  pronounces  its 
judgment  of  approval  there.  The  demand  that  he 
shall  perform  acts  of  righteousness  is  involved  in  the 
demand  that  he  shall  possess  the  right-doing  state  of 
mind,  for  he  who  does  not  perform  them  does  not 
possess  this  state,  and  he  who  possesses  it  performs 
them.  But,  as  repentance  does  not  free  us  from  the 
guilt  of  past  misdeeds,  and  as  it  is  itself,  like  all  human 
acts,  imperfect,  our  justification  must  still  be  an  act  of 
clemency,  a  pardon ;  but,  as  moral  law  lays  on  man  no 
other  demand  than  that  he  shall  have  the  right-doing 
state  of  mind,  repentance  is  the  only  condition  of  par- 
don which  it  imposes.  The  belief  of  a  certain  propo- 
sition regarding  a  certain  man  who  lived  in  Judaea  at  a 

*  If  it  be  thought  that  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  statement 
that  moral  law  demands  that  men  shall  profess  Christ,  it  need 
only  be  said  that  moral  law  does  not  demand  that  the  belief  of 
certain  facts  about  Christ  shall  be  made  a  condition  of  remis- 
sion; but,  when  these  facts  are  once  believed,  it  becomes  a  moral 
duty  to  profess  him,  and  a  man  is  continuing  in  sin  so  long  as 
he  delays  it. 

431 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

certain  time  is  as  extra-ethical  as  the  performance 
of  a  physical  act.  Intellectual  belief  is  not  a  moral 
act.  But  take  away  this  intellectual  belief  of  a  prop- 
osition, and  you  destroy  Christianity,  and  have  only 
naturalism  left.  Moral  law  demands  simply  that  a 
man  shall  do  right,  regardless  of  his  views  on  any 
particular  subject.  If  this  intellectual  belief  is  to 
hold  its  place  in  the  conditions  of  justification,  we 
must  find  some  other  reason  for  it  than  that  nicral 
law  directly  demands  it.  That  reason  appears 
plainly  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  and  is 
founded  in  the  broad  fact  of  human  weakness.  The 
man  who  repents  cannot  live  a  righteous  life  without 
help.  Christianity  is  God's  mighty  arm  reached 
down  to  help  him.  God  regards  his  repentance  with 
a  feeling  of  approval,  but  does  not  remit  his  sins  at 
that  point,  because  it  would  do  him  no  good,  and 
would  even  do  him  harm  by  leading  him  to  believe 
that  he  was  safe;  but  he  makes  remission  depend  on 
the  penitent's  laying  hold  on  the  saving  forces  of 
Christianity,  through  which  his  rescue  from  sin  be- 
comes possible.  But  the  helping  power  of  Christian- 
ity is  not  single,  but  double,  embracing  both  Christ 
and  his  earthly  body,  the  church.  The  same  reason 
that  demands  that  we  shall  enter  into  union  with 
Christ,  demands  that  we  shall  also  enter  into  union 
with  his  church,  as  a  condition  of  remission  of  sins; 
and  these  things  which  belong  together  in  reason, 
the  gospel  has  placed  together  in  performance.  We 
enter  into  union  with  Christ  and  unite  with  his  church 
by  the  same  act,  baptism.  Faith  in  Christ  and  bap- 
tism, as  conditions  of  remission,  stand  or  fall  together. 
Neither  is  an  ethical  condition  in  the  sense  of  being 

an  absolute  demand  of  moral  law,  but,  viewed  in  their 

432 


THE   MORAL   ADJUSTMENT 

true  light,  neither  presents  any  moral  difficulty.  It  is 
perfectly  consistent  that  God  should  require  a  man  to 
place  himself  in  connection  with  the  saving  forces 
which  make  rescue  from  sin  possible,  before  bestow- 
ing on  him  the  favor  of  canceling  his  past  and  grac- 
iously counting  him — what  only  these  forces  can  make 
him — a  righteous  man.  The  true  method  of  ethical 
adjustment  does  not  lie  in  excluding  baptism  (profes- 
sion) from  the  conditions  of  remission,  but  in  draw- 
ing the  line  between  absolutely  ethical,  and  practical, 
conditions,  and  then  frankly  recognizing  that  faith  in 
Christ  and  baptism  belong  to  the  latter  class.  When 
these  are  taken  for  what  they  are  they  give  no  offense 
as  moral  incongruities. 

As  soon  as  we  recognize  baptism  as  a  condition  of 
remission,  the  spiritual  act  of  appropriative  faith,  by 
a  law  of  the  heart,  takes  place  in  it  and  we  at  once 
find  that  the  connection  is  not  one  of  mere  coinci- 
dence in  time,  but  one  in  which  faith  takes  on  cer- 
tain qualities  that  fit  it  to  be  the  condition  of  justi- 
fication. The  demand  that  profession  shall  take  place 
before  divine  acceptance,  raises  faith  to  the  stature  of 
a  world-conquering  force  at  the  point  where  it  under- 
takes the  Christian  life,  by  denying  it  recognition  until 
it  faces  the  world  in  profession;  and  it  then  meas- 
ures that  force  for  the  information  of  the  candidate. 
It  also  causes  the  spiritual  act  of  putting  on  Christ — 
appropriative  faith — to  take  place  under  conditions 
which  shall  render  it  the  strongest,  best-considered, 
and  most  enduring  act  of  which  the  soul  is  capable. 
If  men  are  to  be  justified  by  faith,  that  spiritual  act 
— faith — should  not  be  one  of  inferior  quality,  but 
a    well-considered,    strong,    enduring,    well-fortified 

mental   act;    and   men  have  from  time   immemorial 
28  433 


MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ASPECTS    OF    BAPTISM 

caused  important  mental  acts  of  covenant  and  con- 
tract to  possess  these  qualities,  by  causing  them  to 
take  place  in  some  form  of  jj^'ofession  that  put  the 
will  to  the  strain  and  interposed  strong  motives 
against  retreat.  This  is  done  in  business  transactions 
as  a  safeguard  not  only  against  dishonesty,  but  against 
human  shiftlessness,  indolence,  changeableness,  and 
weakness.  These  influences  affect  the  Christian  life 
as  well  as  business,  and  it  is  as  important  that  faith 
should  take  place  under  conditions  fitted  to  pro- 
tect against  them,  as  that  any  business  transaction 
should  do  so.  Therefore  the  faith  that  is  accepted 
in  justification  should  take  place  in  a  deeply  impres- 
sive and  public  act  of  profession.  To  this,  moral 
law  and  common  sense  unite  to  say  amen. 

If  faith  be  regarded  as  a  coming  to  Christ  or  an 
appropriation  of  Christ  (Jn.  vi.  35),  a  receiving  of 
Christ  (Jn.  i.  12),  a  putting  on  of  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  26, 
27)  and  entrance  into  union  with  him,  and  if  this 
spiritual  act  be  understood  to  take  place  in  baptism, 
where  the  language  of  the  Scriptures  places  it,  the 
view  not  only  falls  into  perfect  accord  with  all  that 
Paul  says  on  justification  by  faith,  and  with  the  entire 
language  of  the  Scriptures  regarding  baptism,  but 
encounters  no  moral  difliculties,  since  baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins  rests  on  the  same  rational  basis  as 
justification  by  faith. 

A  few  words  may  be  necessary  to  relieve  a  possible 
anxiety  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  been  baptized 
without  having  reached  the  profounder  view  of  bap- 
tism advocated  in  this  work.  Not  having  under- 
stood   baptism  to    embrace   the    spiritual    elements 

which   the  Scriptures   give   to   it,   the  question  may 

434 


THE   MORAL   ADJUSTMENT 

arise  whether  their  own  baptism  was  not  deficient  in 
these  respects — whether  it  was  really  more  than  the 
fo7'ni  oi.  Christian  baptism;  and,  if  so,  whether  they 
should  not  be  baptized  again. 

Fortunately  there  are  other  ways  of  procuring  that 
things  be  done  than  by  directing  or  commanding 
them.  The  earth  revolves  round  the  sun  without  be- 
ing commanded  to  do  so,  because  certain  forces  cause 
it  to  do  so.  The  rose  blossoms  in  beauty,  without 
knowing  how,  because  the  forces  of  nature  cause  it. 
It  would  do  it  no  better  if  told  how.  Peter  did  not 
tell  the  Pentecostians  to  believe  his  preaching,  but 
they  did  so  because  he  presented  evidence  to  cause 
that  belief.  Christ  did  not  tell  Saul  to  repent,  but  he 
did  so  most  profoundly,  for  a  great  disclosure  swept 
him  on  to  it  with  irresistible  force.  We  have  had  oc- 
casion, in  the  preceding  pages,  frequently  to  refer  to 
this  moral  causation.  Now,  the  place  in  which  bap- 
tism stands  in  the  process  of  conversion  causes  all 
these  spiritual  elements  naturally  to  fall  within  it.  As 
it  is  the  last  act  before  remission  of  sins,  or  salvation, 
it  becomes  the  appropriative  act,  and  appropriative 
faith  takes  place  naturally  within  it.  How  many 
young  people  ever  stop  to  think  that  what  they  choose 
to  call  the  marriage  ceremony  contains  a  mental  act, 
and  that  that  mental  act  is  essential  to  their  being 
united  in  marriage?  Yet  such  is  the  case,  and  they 
always  take  that  mental  step  in  marriage.  Two 
friends,  after  long  separation,  may  not  stop  to  think 
that  in  the  kiss  of  greeting  there  is  an  act  of  the 
heart,  but  Tennyson's  statement  is  true  to  fact  when 
he  says : 

'*  And  our  spirits  rushed  together  at  the  touching  of  the  lips." 

Is  it  necessary  to  direct  that  the  kiss  shall  contain 

435 


MORAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

a  caress,  or  greeting  of  the  heart,  in  order  to  cause  it 
to  do  so?  Are  not  baby  lips  eloquent  with  all  itts  ten- 
der meanings  before  they  learn  to  analyze  its  charac- 
ter? Such  things  belong  to  the  realm  of  spiritual 
causation,  rather  than  to  that  of  command.  If  the 
moral  and  spiritual  power  of  the  gospel  do  not  cause 
baptism  to  palpitate  with  all  these  holy  meanings, 
you  will  command  it  in  vain.  We  have  no  reason  to 
believe  that  Ananias  explained  baptism  to  Saul  as 
embracing  all  the  spiritual  meanings  which  the  great 
apostle  gave  to  it,  but  we  cannot  doubt  that  Paul  ac- 
tually/oi^ucZ  it  to  be  all  this,  and  those  who  follow  in 
his  steps  will  have  a  like  experience. 

Preach  the  gospel  earnestly  and  faithfully,  and  then 
answer  inquirers  as  Peter  did  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
and  if  their  repentance  be  genuine,  their  baptism  will 
be  all  that  it  has  been  represented  to  be  in  these 
pages.  The  filling  of  this  solemn  act  with  these  spir- 
itual elements  is  not  arbitrary,  but  natural. 

But  what  shall  be  said  of  those  w4io  have  taken  the 
spiritual  step  of  coming  to  Christ,  surrendering  to 
him,  and  casting  themselves  on  his  saving  mercy, 
before  baptism,  thus  depriving  baptism  of  the  greater 
part  of  its  spiritual  character,  and  then,  at  a  later 
date,  receiving  it  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  a  divine 
command,  and  as  a  door  into  the  visible  church? 
Can  immersion  be  much  more  than  an  empty  cere- 
mony under  such  circumstances?  It  has  evidently 
lost  much  of  its  true  character,  but  the  question 
arises,  Can  such  mistakes  be  rectified?  What  is 
done,  is  done.  These  persons  cannot  renounce  Christ 
that  they  may  give  themselves  up  to  him  again.  The 
question  is  not  whether  the  baptism  should  be  re- 
peated, but  whether  it  can  ever  be,  so  as  to  make  it 

436 


THE   MORAL   ADJUSTMENT 

what  it  would  have  been  iii  the  first  place.  If  now 
performed  again,  it  could  only  be  a  re-consecration  to 
Christ,  but  it  must  have  been  all  this  instinctively 
when  performed  at  its  late  date,  so  profoundly  does 
this  solemn  burial  and  resurrection  invite  such  an  act 
of  the  heart.  Strong  testimony  might  be  adduced 
from  those  who  thus  practice,  corroborating  this 
fact.*  The  heart  is  wiser  than  the  head,  and  baptism 
proves  to  be  more  than  they  have  held  it  to  be. 
Baptism  answers  to  a  spiritual  hunger,  and  hunger 
cannot  be  made  to  obey  orders.  Now,  the  act  could 
be  nothing  more  than  this,  should  it  be  repeated,  and 
so  nothing  would  be  gained.  The  severance  of  the 
spiritual  and  physical  elements  of  the  act  can  never 
be  wholly  remedied.  The  same  point  cannot  be 
passed  again  without  going  back.  There  has  been  a 
real  spiritual  transference  to  Christ,  and  this  ground 
cannot  be  traversed  again.  There  can  be  a  more 
complete  consecration,  but  this  did  most  likely  take 
place  in  the  baptism  when  it  was  performed.  All 
that  was  required  has  been  done;  the  candidate  has 
both  put  on  Christ  and  submitted  to  physical  baptism, 
but  not  in  the  right  order.  Faith  was  unclothed  and 
baptism  impoverished,  but  it  cannot  now  be  remedied. 
It  remains  only  for  the  Master  to  pardon  a  mistake 
which  cannot  now  be  corrected. 

There  is  still  another  class  who  have  also  com- 
mitted themselves  to  Christ  and  sought  to  enter  into 
spiritual  union  with  him  previous  to  baptism,  but 
who,  when  essaying,  at  a  late  date,  to  obey  this  com- 
mand, have  committed  a  mistake  regarding  the  phys- 
ical act  required.     In  this  case,  all  that  was  required 


♦See  The  Millennial  Harbinger,  1869,  p.  590  sq. 

437 


MORAL   AND    SPIRITUAL   ASPECTS   OF   BAPTISM 

has  not  been  done,  and,  so  far,  the  defect  can  be 
remedied.  In  doing  this,  however,  let  the  act  not  be 
merely  foraial.  Let  there  be  in  the  immersion  a 
more  complete  surrender  to  the  Master  than  has  be- 
fore been  made.  Let  it  contain  all  of  baptism  that 
is  possible  at  this  late  date,  and  a  blessing,  like  that 
attested  by  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson  and  others,  may  be  ex- 
pected. 

The  profounder  and  more  spiritual  conceptions  of 
baptism,  which  it  has  been  the  aim  of  this  work  to  set 
forth,  will,  it  is  hoped,  do  something  toward  restor- 
ing to  its  position  of  honor  and  usefulness,  a  divine 
institution  which  has  been  long  perverted  and  dis- 
paraged. But  this  view  in  no  way  affects  the  ques- 
tion of  re-baptism.     This    will  stand  as  it  did  before. 

438 


APPENDIX 


A. 

(See  p.  183.) 

ALEXANDER   CAMPBELL'S  VIEW    OF 

FAITH. 

Most  of  what  has  been  said  thus  far  regarding 
faith  is  in  accord  with  Alexander  Campbell's  teach- 
ings on  the  subject.  He  says,  in  the  Christian  Sys- 
tem  (p.  52),  that  "Faith  in  Christ  is  the  effect  of  be- 
lief. Belief  is  the  cause;  and  trust,  confidence,  or 
faith  in  Christ,  the  effect.''  He  further  says:  *' While, 
then,  faith  is  the  simple  belief  of  testimony,  or  of 
the  truth,  and  never  can  be  more  nor  less  than  that; 
as  a  principle  of  action  it  has  respect  to  a  person  or 
thing  interesting  to  us,  and  is  confidence  or  trust  in 
that  person  or  thing.  Now  the  belief  of  what  Christ 
says  of  himself,  terminates  in  trust  or  confidence  in 
him,  and  as  the  Christian  religion  is  a  personal  thing, 
both  as  regards  subject  and  object^  that  faith  in  Christ 
which  is  essential  to  salvation  is  not  the  belief  of  any 
doctrine,  testimony  (s^6'),  or  truth,  abstractly,  but 
belief  in  Christ;  trust  or  confidence  in  him  as  a  per- 
son, not  a  thing"  (p.  53). 

Here  we  have  it  clearly  stated  that  belief  of  the 
truth  about  Christ  and  faith  in  Christ  are  not  the 
same;  that  one  is  beliefs  the  other  trust;  that  one  is 
cause,  the  other  effect;  that  one  is  belief  of  testimony, 
the  other  trust  in  a  person,  and  a  principle  of  action; 
and  finally,  that  the  faith  * 'which  is  essential  to  salva- 
tion is  not  the  belief  of  any  doctrine,  testimony,  or 
truth,  abstractly,  but  belief  in  Christ." 

All  this  is  true,  and  accords  with  what  I  have  said; 

but,  with  all  deference  to  so  great  a  name,  I  cannot 

441 


APPENDIX 

but  think  that  Mr.  Campbell  did  not  always  suffi- 
ciently preserve  the  distinction  between  these  two 
mental  acts,  else  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
him  to  place  the  faith  "which  is  essential  to  salva- 
tion" (as  I  understand  him  to  do)  before  repentance.* 
The  belief  of  the  truth,  or  of  testimony,  naturally 
and  generally  precedes  rejDentance,  while  the  personal 
faith,  trust  in  Christ,  as  I  understand  him  to  define  it, 
not  only  naturally,  but  necessarily,  follows  repent- 
ance. While  regarding  tho  belief  and  the  personal 
faith  as  different,  he  seems  to  consider  them  as  tak- 
ing place  so  closely  together  as  to  be,  in  effect,  one 
act,  transpiring  at  the  moment  of  believing  the  truth, 
and  all  antecedent  to  repentance.  In  Campbell  on 
Baptism  (p.  69),  he  says:  "The  head,  the  heart,  the 
will,  the  conscience  are  all  simultaneously  exercised 
in  the  act  of  believing  in  order  to  justification.  The 
head  alone  believes  nothing.  Nor  does  the  heart,  the 
will,  the  conscience  alone  believe  anything.  The  un- 
derstanding simply  discerns  the  truth,  the  conscience 
recognizes  authority,  the  heart  feels  love,  the  will 
yields  to  requisition."  This  is  an  admirable  descrip- 
tion of  faith,  but  it  is  certainly  not  strictly  correct  to 
say  that  all  these  things  take  place  at  precisely  the 
same  time;  and  it  is  even  true  that  the  discernment 
of  the  truth  by  the  understanding  sometimes  takes 
place  years  before  the  yielding  to  requisition,  or  sur- 
render. Even  when  such  mental  acts  occur  in  the 
closest  possible  connection,  there  is  still  a  sequence. 
A   messenger   stands   at    the   door  to   announce   the 

*  In  Campbell  on  Baptism,  p.  80,  he  says  that  "the  connection 
between  faith  and  repentance  is  that  of  cause  and  effect,  of 
means  and  end";  and  again:  "Repentance,  indeed,  antecedent 
to  faith,  to  me  appears  impossible."  There  are  similar  state- 
ments in  many  other  places. 

442 


APPENDIX 

death  of  a  beloved  friend.  The  words  are  hardly 
uttered  before  the  pang  of  agony  is  felt;  but  the  news 
has  first  been  heard,  then  understood  and  believed, 
and  then,  following  this  as  effect  follows  cause,  has 
come  the  pain  of  the  heart.  The  overlooking  of  the 
time-relation  between  cause  and  effect  in  such  cases 
makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  with  the  question  we 
are  now  considering.  The  feeling  of  the  heart  and 
the  act  of  the  will,  in  relation  to  any  fact,  are  results 
of  the  apprehension  of  that  fact  by  the  understand- 
ing, and  must  follow  it  in  point  of  time,-  and,  if  by 
yielding  to  requisition  Mr.  Campbell  means  accept- 
ance of  Christ  and  surrender  to  him,  this  cannot  take 
place  until  after  we  have  ceased  to  cling  to  the  life  of 
sin — repentance.  Thus,  one  of  the  steps  embraced  in 
this  definition  of  faith  precedes,  while  another  must 
follow,  repentance. 

Mr.  Campbell  does  not  affirm  that  the  belief  of  tes- 
timony and  faith  in  a  person  are  always  the  same,  but 
that,  under  certain  conditions  (which  are  present  in 
the  gospel),  they  amount  practically  to  the  same 
thing;  so  that  he  can  say  that  '^aith  is  the  simple  be- 
lief of  testimony,"  '*faith  can  never  be  more  than  the 
receiving  of  testimony  as  true,  or  the  belief  of  testi- 
mony," etc.  His  statement  of  the  case  is  as  follows: 
"To  believe  what  a  person  says  and  to  trust  in  him 
are  not  always  identical.  True,  indeed,  they  often 
are;  for  if  a  person  speaks  to  us  concerning  himself, 
and  states  to  us  matters  of  great  interest  to  ourselves, 
requiring  confidence  in  him,  to  believe  what  he  says, 
and  to  believe  or  trust  in  him,  are  in  effect,  one  and 
the  same  thing.  Suppose  a  physician  present  himself 
to  one  that  is  sick,  stating  his  ability  and  willingness 

to  heal  him;  to  believe  him  is  to  trust  in  him,  and  put 

443 


APPENDIX 

ourselves  under  his  guidance;  provided,  only,  we  love 
health  rather  than  sickness,  and  life  rather  than 
death"  (^Christian  System,  p.  52). 

Now,  to  believe  the  statement  of  the  physician,  may 
be  "m  effect'^  the  same  as  **to  trust  in  him,  and  put 
ourselves  under  his  guidance,"  but  if  our  statement  is 
to  be  accurate  we  must  say  that  we  have  here  two 
distinct  and  consecutive  acts — (1)  a  belief  of  the 
understanding  and  (2)  an  act  of  the  will,  which  fol- 
lows that  belief  as  its  effect.  There  can  be  a  belief 
of  what  the  physician  says,  as  true ;  but  there  can  be 
no  trust  in  him  to  heal  us,  until  after  that  act  of  the 
will  which  accepts  his  services.  But  it  is  of  most 
importance  for  us  to  consider  the  bearing  of  the 
qualifying  clause  of  this  comparison,  viz.,  * 'provided, 
only,  we  love  health  rather  than  sickness,"  etc.  Does 
not  this,  in  its  application  to  conversion,  assume  a 
condition  in  which  repentance  has  already  taken 
place?  The  sick  man  loves  health  rather  than  sick- 
ness, and  is  intent  on  getting  rid  of  his  disease,  and 
doing  everything  in  his  power  to  that  end,  before  the 
phj'sician  addresses  him.  Now,  the  man  who  has 
ceased  to  love  his  moral  disease  (sin),  and  is  striving 
in  every  possible  way  to  overcome  it,  has  already 
repented  of  his  sins — turned  from  them  in  heart  and 
i)urpose.  Any  trust  which  comes  into  existence  under 
such  circumstances,  must  be  a  trust,  not  before,  but 
after,  repentance  for  sin.  So  the  condition  under 
which  believing  what  Christ  says  and  trusting  in  him 
"are  in  effect  one  and  the  same  thing,"  rnust  be  one 
which  assumes  repentance  for  one's  sins  to  have 
already  taken  place. 

Mr.  Campbell  says  of  repentance:     **Repentance  is 

sorrow  for  sins  committed ;  but  it  is   more.     It  is  a 

444 


APPENDIX 

resolution  to  forsake  them;  but  it  is  more.  It  is 
actual  'ceasing  to  do  evil  and  learning  to  do  welF  " 
(Ohnstian  Sy.dein,  p.  53).  Now,  if  personal  faith  in 
Christ  is  * 'trusting  him  and,  putting  ourselves  under 
his  guidance,"  and  if  repentance  embraces  a  ''resolu- 
tion to  forsake"  sin,  it  is  impossible  that  this  faith 
should  precede  repentance.  No  man  ever  puts  him- 
self under  Christ's  guidance  until  he  has  first  resolved 
to  forsake  his  sins.  Any  man  who  should  pretend  to 
do  so  would  be  a  hypocrite. 

Mr.  Campbell  again  says  that  "no  one  can  be  said 
to  believe  in  Jesus  that  does  not  confide  in  him  for 
his  own  personal  salvation"  (^Campbell  on  Baptism, 
p.  76).* 

But  no  man  can  confide  in  Jesus  for  his  own  per- 
sonal salvation  who  has  not  formed  a  "resolution  to 
forsake  his  sins"  (repentance);  for  that  salvation 
cannot  come  while  he  is  living  in  sin  and,  as  he  has 
formed  no  resolution  to  forsake  it,  he  has  no  reason 
to  believe  that  the  salvation  ever  will  be  his.  Such  a 
faith,  therefore,  before  repentance,  is  a  psychologi- 
cal impossibility.  The  sinner  cannot  confide  in  Christ 
for  anything  until  he  resolves  to  forsake  his  sins. 
Mr.  Campbell's  definition  of  the  faith  that  is  "essen- 
tial to  salvation"  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  but  that 
very  definition  determines  its  place  in  conversion  as 
a  sequent  of  repentance. 

Personal  trust  in  Christ  was  clearly  recognized  in 
the  first  two  quotations,  but  the  demands  of  its  nature 
have  been  overlooked  when  determining  the  position 
of  faith  in  conversion,  and  all  has  been  determined  in 


*  True,  he  loosely  speaks  of  this  confidence  in  Christ,  in  the 
preceding  clause,  as  an  "effect"  of  faith;  but  in  his  statement  in 
the  Christian  System  (p.  53),  he  declares  that  "conlidence  in 
him"  (Christ)  is  the  faith  "which  is  essential  to  salvation." 

445 


APPENDIX 

accordance  with  the  conception  of  faith  as  the  belief 
of  testimony,  or  the  truth.  Thanks,  however,  to  the 
heart,  and  to  the  gospel  simply  preached,  this  per- 
sonal faith  in  Christ  has  been  no  idle  factor  in  con- 
version itself.  But,  neither  with  the  Disciples,  nor 
with  any  other  evangelical  people,  does  it  ever  exist 
before  the  sinner  resolves  to  forsake  his  sins. 

One  consideration  which  has  had  much  to  do  in 
determining  the  above  view,  is  the  fact  that  the 
Scriptures  themselv^es  nowhere  make  any  such  dis- 
tinctions regarding  faith.  They  do  not  speak  of  his- 
torical faith,  or  faith  of  the  understanding,  of  ap- 
propriative  faith,  etc.,  but  simply  of  faith^  without 
specifying  different  kinds;*  and  they  do  not  any- 
where inform  us  that  the  word  faith  is  used  in  differ- 
ent senses,  or  that  it  is  ever  used  in  any  sense  differ- 
ent from  the  ordinary  secular  meaning  of  the  term. 

If  we  are  to  reproduce  the  primitive  thought  on 
this  subject,  must  we  not  stop  where  the  Scriptures 
stop,  and  refuse  to  make  any  such  distinctions?  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  nobody  has  done  this.  To  say  that 
the  word  faith  always  means  the  same  thing,  and  that 
it  is  simply  the  receiving  of  testimony  as  true,  is  to  go 
beyond  the  Scriptures,  and  declare  what  they  no- 
where say.  He  who  says  that  the  word  faiih — or  its 
cognate  term  believe — is  always  used  in  the  same  sense 
transcends  the  Scripture  utterances  on  this  subject  as 
completely  as  he  who  says  there  are  various  kinds  of 
faith. t  An  effort  has  been  made  to  respect  the  silence 
of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject  by  grouping  togeth- 

*  Though  there  are  certain  phrases  which  are  specially  expres- 
sive of  the  personal  faith  in  Christ,  as  will  be  seen  later.     . 

fThe  "one  faith"  spoken  of  in  Bph.  iv.  5  does  not  refer  to  the 
psychological  nature  of  faith;  it  does  not  mean  one  way  of  be- 
lievins^. 

^  446 


APPENDIX 

er  all  the  elements  which  the  Scriptures  give  to  faith, 
and  attempting  to  unite  them  into  one  act,  all  tran- 
spiring at  the  same  time  (as  in  the  passage  quoted 
from  Campbell  on  Baptism ,  p.  69),  and  claiming  that 
whenever  faith  is  spoken  of  it  means  this.  But  this 
simply  results  in  giving  us  a  definition  of  faith  which 
is  a  psychological  impossibility,  and,  besides,  signally 
fails  to  restore  the  primitive  thought  on  this  subject. 
It  is  by  the  application  of  linguistic  laws  that  that 
thought  must  be  reached,  not  by  an  arithmetical 
grouping  of  concepts. 

But  does  not  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  nowhere 
inform  us  that  the  word  faith  is  used  in  different 
senses,  or  that  it  is  ever  used  in  any  other  than  its 
common  or  classical  sense,  compel  us  to  conclude 
that  it  has  but  one  meaning,  and  that  the  ordi- 
nary one?  Emphatically,  no.  Such  an  assumption 
ignores  one  of  the  most  common  facts  of  language. 
We  are  continually  using  words  in  a  great  variety  of 
senses,  without  stopping  to  inform  each  other  of  the 
fact;  and  it  is  still  further  true,  except  in  philosoph- 
ical and  scientific  disquisitions,  that  when  words  are 
used  in  neio  senses  even,  we  are  not  informed  of  the 
fact  by  those  so  using  them. 

Twenty  years  ago,  Captain  Boycott,  a   gentleman 

living  in  Mayo,  Ireland,  received  a  peculiar  kind  of 

treatment  from  his  neighbors.     The  expedient  having 

proved  successful  in  reaching  the   end  desired,   the 

same   treatment    was    resorted    to    with    respect    to 

others,  and  this  treatment  began  at  once  to  be  called 

"boycotting."     Those  who  so  used  the  word  did  not 

stop  to  say  that  they  did  not  mean  Captain  Boycott ^  but 

instead  a  certain  kind  of  treatment;   they  simply  used 

the  word  in  the  new  sense,  and  everybody  understood 

447 


APPENDIX 

them.  The  newspapers  took  it  up,  and  it  finally  be- 
came the  common  designation  for  that  kind  of  treat- 
ment. At  last  it  reached  the  lexicographer,  who  de- 
fined the  word  and  pointed  out  the  distinctions  in 
sense,  which  already  existed.  The  new  sense  in 
which  this  word  was  used  was  widely  different 
from  its  former  meaning;  yet,  not  until  we  reach 
the  lexicographer,  do  we  have  any  statement  of  the 
difference  of  meaning.  Suppose  that  during  this 
time,  because  those  who  spoke  of  boycotting  did  not 
inform  us  that  they  were  using  the  word  in  a  new 
sense,  we  had  contended  that  they  always  meant 
Captain  Boycott,  what  a  blunder  it  would  have  been! 

So  far  is  it  from  being  true  that  we  are  informed  of 
the  fact  when  words  are  used  in  new  senses,  that  the 
speaker  himself  is  not  generally  directly  conscious  of 
it.     Professor  Whitney,  speaking  on  this  point,  says: 

*'No  one  says  to  himself,  or  to  others:  'Our  lan- 
guage is  defective  in  this  and  that  particular;  go  to 
now,  and  let  us  change  it';  any  more  than  he  says: 
'All  things  carefully  considered,  this  particular  word 
in  our  speech  can  well  enough  be  spared;  let  us  cast 
it  out.'  The  end  aimed  at — and  not  even  with  full 
consciousness — is  the  supply  of  a  need  of  expression, 
or  the  attainment  of  a  more  satisfactory  expression. 
An  exigency  arises,  a  conjuncture  in  which  the  exist- 
ing available  resources  are  not  sufficient  for  the 
speaker's  end,  and  in  one  or  other  of  the  various 
ways  described  above,  he  adds  to  them  to  answer  his 
present  purpose.  Or  the  opportunity  offers  itself, 
and  is  seized,  for  a  short  cut,  a  new  and  more  attrac- 
tive path,  to  a  point  accessible  enough  in  old  ways.  A 
person  commits  thus  an  addition  to  language  without 

ever  being  aware  of  it;     any  more  than  the  parents 

448 


APPENDIX 

who  name  their  son  reflect  that  they  are  thus  virtually 
making  an  addition  to  the  city  directory."* 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  what  does  it  signify  that 
the  inspired  writers  do  not  inform  us  that  they  use 
faith  in  different  senses,  or  that  they  often  use  it  in 
a  new  sense  not  found  in  the  common  speech  of  their 
time?  Simply  this  and  nothing  more;  their  theology 
was  not  yet  formed;  they  had  not  reached  the  stage  of 
verbal  criticism.  It  has  not  the  slightest  bearing  on 
the  question  whether  they  used  the  word  faith  in  one 
or  many  senses.  They  might  have  used  the  word  in 
new  senses  and  been  perfectly  understood  by  their 
readers,  without  even  having  reflected  that  they  were 
doing  so.  We  can,  if  we  choose,  in  preaching  the 
gospel,  speak  of  faith  just  as  the  apostles  did,  without 
saying  what  the  word  means,  or  whether  it  has  one  or 
many  meanings,  and  our  hearers  will  get  a  substan- 
tially correct  view  of  the  matter;  but  if  we  study  the 
question  and  endeavor  to  find  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  terms  used  in  speaking  of  this  faith,  we  are  doing 
what  the  apostles  did  not  do.  At  least  we  find  noth- 
ing of  the  kind  in  their  writings.  If,  then,  we  under- 
take to  do  this  thing  which  they  did  not  do,  we  must 
resort  to  no  mechanical  massing  of  concepts,  but  con- 
sider each  use  of  the  word  in  the  light  of  its  correla- 
tions, or  conditions  of  use.  In  pursuance  of  this 
method,  the  scholarship  of  the  world  has,  with  sin- 
gular unanimity,  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
vfovd  faith  and  its  correlate  believe  are  used  in  various 
senses  in  the  Scriptures,  and  that  some  of  these  senses 
are  peculiar  to  the  Scriptures  themselves. 


'Life  and  Growth  of  Language,  p.  147. 
29  449 


B. 

(Skk  p.    387.) 

DID    SAUL    RECEIVE   THE   HOLY   SPIRIT 
BEFORE  OR  AFTER  (IN)  HIS  BAPTISM? 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  that  the  language  in 
Acts  ix.  18  justifies  the  conclusion  that  Saul  received 
the  Holy  Spirit  before  he  was  baptized.  The  passage 
reads,  including  vv.  17  and  19,  as  follo^ys:  **And 
Ananias  departed  and  entered  into  the  house;  and 
laying  his  hands  on  him  said,  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord, 
even  Jesus,  who  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  way  which 
thou  camest,  hath  sent  me,  that  thou  mayest  receive 
thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  And 
straightway  there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  were  scales, 
and  he  received  his  sight;  and  he  arose  and  was  bap- 
tized;  and  he  took  food  and  was  strengthened.'* 

Meyer's  interpretation  is  that  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  * 'followed  at  the  baptism."* 

The  reasons  against  interpreting  this  passage  so  as 
to  place  Saul's  reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit  before 
his  baptism  seem  to  me  to  be  weighty.  Let  it  be 
noted  : 


*  So  also  Martineau,  who  says  that  Paul  "was  baptized  ere  he 
was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." — Seat  of  Authority  in  Religion, 
p.  516. 

Philip  Schaff  says  that  Ananias  "restored  to  the  praying  Saul 
his  bodily  sight,  according  to  the  divine  commission,  by  laying 
his  hands  upon  him;  baptized  him  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins; 
imparted  to  him  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  etc.,  thus  bringing 
baptism  before  the  impartation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. — History  of 
the  Apostolic  Church,  f).  231.  Compare  also  the  article  on  laying 
on  of  hands,  where  he  does  not  include  this  passage  among  the 
list  of  those  in  which  the  laying  on  of  hands  is  represented  as  a 
"medium  of  the  communication  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — Ibid,  p. 
584. 

450 


APPENDIX 

1.  That  the  passage  does  not  say  so.  Ananias, 
while  laying  hands  on  Saul  to  restore  his  sight,  an- 
nounces the  object  for  which  he  was  sent,  but  not 
that  for  which  he  lays  on  hands.  But  as  we  know 
that  he  laid  hands  on  Saul  for  the  purpose  of  restor- 
ing his  sight,  and  was  in  the  act  of  doing  so  when 
he  uttered  the  language,  and  as  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
also  sometimes  conferred  by  laying  on  of  hands,  does 
not  this  imply  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  then  con- 
ferred? The  most  that  can  be  said  is  that  the  lan- 
guage is  ambiguous,  and  that,  taken  by  itself  apart 
from  any  external  considerations,  it  readily  admits  of 
such  a  sense.  That  it  necessarily  conveys  it,  how- 
ever, is  not  true;  and  there  is  nothing  inconsistent 
with  the  view  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  fol- 
lowed Saul's  baptism,  if  there  be  any  reasons  derived 
from  other  sources  for  thinking  so. 

2.  The  divine  order  in  which  baptism  and  the  be- 
st© wment  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  to  stand  to  each 
other  was  indicated  in  the  baptism  of  Jesus.  There 
can  be  no  reason  imagined  why  the  Holy  Spirit 
should  not  have  descended  on  Jesus^  previous  to  his 
baptism,  if  such  were  designed  to  be  the  divine  order. 
This  baptism  was  made  in  all  possible  respects  the 
model  of  Christian  baptism.  The  order  here  is, 
first,  the  baptism,  and  then,  as  Jesus  prays,  while 
ascending  out  of  the  water,  the  Holy  Spirit  descends 
upon  him,  and  the  voice  from  heaven  acknowledges 
him  as  the  beloved  Son.  In  like  manner  in  Christian 
baptism  we  have,  first,  the  physical  act,  then  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  assurance  of  sonship — the 
"Abba,  Father."  Peter's  declaration  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  38)  places  the  reception  of  the 
Holy   Spirit   unmistakably   after   baptism.      Peter  is 

451 


APPENDIX 

here  announcing  the  gospel  for  all  nations  and  for  all 
time.  This  promise  was  to  all  whom  "the  Lord  our 
God  shall  call  unto  him."  Unless  there  be  good  evi- 
dence that  this  divine  order  was  departed  from,  it  is 
not  allowable  to  assume  it,  or  to  find  it  in  any  merely 
ambiguous  passage. 

3.  Paul  was  called  to  be  an  apostle,  and  the  rest  of 
the  apostles  received  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  through  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  but  directly  from  heaven.  They 
had  also  been  previously  baptized,  since  some  of  them 
at  least  had  been  John's  disciples,  and  Jesus  had  also 
practiced  baptism  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry 
(Jn.  iv.  1  and  iii.  22). 

4.  None  but  apostles  could  confer  the  Spirit  by 
laying  on  of  hands — at  least  none  ever  did — and 
Philip's  converts  in  Samaria  did  not  receive  it  till  it 
was  conferred  by  apostles  sent  from  Jerusalem  (Acts 
viii.  14-17);  though  it  is  believed  that  where  no  mir- 
aculous impartation  was  sought,  it  took  place  without 
the  laying  on  of  hands.  There  is  no  account  of  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  in  the  case  of  the  three  thousand 
baptized  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  no  such  condi- 
tion is  mentioned  by  Peter.  When  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  learned  that  many  converts  had  been  made 
at  Antioch,  they  sent  Barnabas  to  them,  "who,  when 
he  was  come  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God,  was 
glad;  and  he  exhorted  them  all,  that  with  purpose  of 
heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord";  but  there  is 
no  account  that  either  he  or  any  one  else  conferred 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  them  by  imposition  of  hands. 
Such  an  event  could  hardly  have  been  omitted  from 
the  narrative  had  Barnabas'  mission  been,  like  that  of 
Peter  and  John  to  Samaria,  to  confer  the  Holy  Spirit 

on  these  converts.      It  is  evident  that  they  had  been 

452 


APPENDIX 

converted  by  men  who  had  had  no  more  authority  to 
confer  the  Holy  Spirit  by  laying  on  of  hands  than  had 
Philip.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  any  apos- 
tle had  ever  visited  Rome  when  Paul  wrote  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans,  yet  he  assumes  that  these  brethren 
had  received  the  Holy  Spirit  (Rom.  viii.  11).  If  the 
promise  of  the  reception  of  the  Spirit  was  fulfilled 
to  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  it  must,  it  would  seem, 
have  been  without  the  laying  on  of  hands;  for  he 
was  on  his  way  to  Africa,  and  Philip  could  not  confer 
it  in  that  manner,  as  we  have  just  seen  from  Acts  viii.* 
Now,  as  Ananias  was  not  an  apostle,  he  was  not 
authorized  to  confer  the  Spirit  by  laying  on  of  hands. 

5.  Even  the  apostles  never  conferred  the  Spirit  by 
laying  on  of  hands  before  baptism.  So  that  if  Ana- 
nias had  been  commissioned  by  a  special  dispensation 
to  do  this,  he  would  have  had  no  authority  to  do  it 
before  baptism. 

6.  Over  and  above  all  these  facts,  we  may  state 
broadly  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  never  in  any  case, 
or  through  any  means,  received  by  any  one  in  the 
apostolic  age  before  baptism,  save  in  one  instance 
(Acts  X.  and  xi.),  when  a  miracle  was  demanded,  and 
the  case  was  such  that  no  miracle  could  so  well  serve 
the  purpose  as  the  miraculous  impartation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  need  of  the  miracle  in  this  case 
was  clearly  apparent,  and  the  use  made  of  it  is  equal- 
ly plain.  No  such  need  existed  in  the  case  of  Saul, 
and  no  reason  of  any  kind  can  be  assigned  for  depart- 
ing from  the  divinely  establi'shed  orde«r  on  this  ocoa- 


*The  Teaching  of  the  Tzvelvc  Apostles  says  nothing  about  the 
impartation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  laying  on  of  hands,  or  of  this 
act  being  practiced  at  all  in  connection  with  baptism. 

453 


APPENDIX 

sion.     The  case  of  Cornelius  can  therefore  have  no 
bearing  on  this  one. 

7.  Paul's  own  understanding  of  the  matter  is  ap- 
parent from  the  occurrence  at  Ephesus,  recorded  in 
Acts  xix.  1-7.  He  found  a  number  of  disciples  there, 
who,  having  known  only  John's  baptism,  had  not  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  an  apostle  and  had 
the  power  to  confer  the  Spirit  by  la}  ing  on  of  hands, 
but  he  did  not  do  so  until  he  had  first  baptized  them 
**into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Is  it  likely  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  conferred  on  Saul  by  laying  on 
of  hands  by  one  who  was  not  an  apostle,  and  that, 
too,  he/ore  his  baptism? 

8.  In  Titus  iii.  5,  Paul  speaks  of  his  own  conver- 
sion in  common  with  that  of  others  and  says:  "He 
saved  us  through  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  he  poured  out  on  us 
richly,"  etc.  Here  the  ''washing  of  regeneration" 
(baptism)  precedes  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
connected  with  its  outpouring.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  fact  in  Paul's  case,  it  is  certain  that  he 
classes  it  with  others,  making  no  distinction  in  respect 
of  order.  So,  also,  in  his  letter  to  the  Galatians,  he 
tells  them  that  they  became  sons  of  God  in  their 
baptism  (ch.  iii.  26,  27),  and  then  that  because  they 
were  sons  God  had  bestowed  upon  them  the  Holy 
Spirit  (ch.  iv.  6);  but  he  classes  himself  luith  them  in 
this:  "God  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  our 
hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father."  These  passages  show 
clearly  that  Paul's  theology  places  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  after  (or  m)  baptism,  and  that  in  speak^ 
ing  of  cases  of  such  bestowment  he  classes  his  own 
with  them,  without  giving  any  hint  of  difference. 

9.  When  Christ  appeared  to  Ananias  to  instruct 

454 


APPENDIX 

him  what  to  do,  he  spoke  of  his  going  to  Saul  and 
"laying  hands  on  him  th-at  he  might  receive  his  sight'* 
(?;.  12);  but  there  was  nothing  said  about  his  con- 
ferring the  Spirit  in  this  manner;  neither  had  SauTs 
vision  contained  any  such  intimation.  Unless  Ana- 
nias was  specially  commissioned  to  do  this,  his  Ian- 
language  in  V.  17  cannot  possibly  have  this  meaning. 

10.  When  the  effect  of  Ananias'  laying  on  of  hands 
is  recorded  in  v.  18,  it  is  said:  "And  straightway 
there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  were  scales,  and  he  re- 
ceived his  sight,"  but  no  other  result  is  recorded  as 
having  followed  this  act.  In  Paul's  own  account  in 
Acts  xxii.  13,  he  ascribes  the  healing  of  his  blindness 
to  Ananias,  but  does  not  couple  with  it  the  imparta- 
tion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  this  actually  took  place, 
is  it  not  strange  that  neither  in  the  commission  given 
to  Ananias,  nor  in  the  accounts  of  its  fulfillment  by 
either  Luke  or  Paul  should  anything  be  said  about  it? 

Ananias  came  to  Saul  to  do  two  things — to  lay 
hands  on  him,  and  to  baptize  him;  and,  correspond- 
ing with  these,  two  results  were  to  follow — the  resto- 
ration of  sight,  and  the  filling  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 

11.  I  am  constrained  to  oifer  one  further  consider- 
ation. The  only  reason  why  it  is  thought  that  the 
impartation  of  the  Spirit  took  place  through  the  im- 
position of  Ananias'  hands  is  that  Ananias  mentions 
it  in  connection  with  the  healing  when  stating  the 
object  of  his  visit,  and  the  statement  was  made  while 
he  was  laying  hands  on  Saul  to  heal  his  blindness. 
Let  those  who  would  draw  this  conclusion  from  the 
fact  of  the  mention  of  these  two  things  together  be 
at  pains  to  read  Acts  ix.  3-8,  and  ask  themselves 
whether,  if  this  were  the  only  narrative  of  Saul's  con- 
version, they  would  not  conclude  that  Saul  was  the 

455 


APPENDIX 

only  one  of  the  company  who  fell  to  the  earth.  But 
in  doing  so  they  would  be  wrong,  for  in  the  26th 
chapter,  14th  verse,  Paul  says:  *'And  when  we  were 
all  fallen  to  the  earth,"  etc.  Some  have  thought  they 
found  a  contradiction  in  this  statement,  but  this  is 
not  likely,  since  these  versions  of  the  occurrence  all 
come  to  us  through  Luke,  and  it  is  certain  he  did  not 
consider  them  contradictory.  The  fact  is,  there  is  no 
contradiction,  since,  with  Farrar,  it  may  be  supposed 
that  all  did  fall  to  the  earth,  and  that  the  rest  rose 
and  stood  speechless  with  terror;  or,  with  Hackett, 
that  the  phrase  * 'stood  speechless"  is  an  idiomatic 
expression  meaning  dumb  with  amazement  or  terror, 
without  referring  to  the  position  of  the  body.  In 
the  light  of  such  examples  in  this  very  narrative, 
what  is  such  a  deduction  as  that  referred  to  from  the 
manner  of  speaking  of  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  Acts  ix.  17  worth?  The  fact  is,  we  have  in 
these  three  accounts  in  Acts  ix,  xxii,  and  xxvi  abridged 
narratives ;  and  abridged  narratives  must  leave  some- 
thing out,  omit  connecting  links,  and  often  bring 
things  together  which  did  not  occur  together;  and  in 
such  cases  a  narrative  must  be  held  responsible  for 
nothing  which  it  does  not  actually  assert.  To  do 
otherwise  would  involve  these  three  accounts  in  hope- 
less contradiction;  observe  this  precaution,  and  any 
effort  to  build  an  exception  to  the  divine  order 
on  the  wording  of  Acts  ix.  17,  must  be  rejected  as 
illegitimate.  The  passage  can  be  held  responsible  for 
no  more  than  it  states;  and  it  does  not  state  that 
Ananias  conferred  the  Holy  Spirit  on  Saul  by  impo- 
sition of  hands  before  his  baptism,  but  leaves  it 
doubtful  whether  the  spirit  was  received  then,  or  in 

connection  with  the  immediately  subsequent  baptism. 

456 


APPENDIX 

If  the  passage  were  to  read:  "And  straightway 
there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  were  scales,  and  he  re- 
ceived his  sight;  and  he  arose  and  was  baptized  and 
was  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,"  there  would  be  no 
semblance  of  contradiction  in  the  statement  to  any- 
thing which  had  preceded.  It  would  but  decide  the 
meaning  of  a  statement  which,  as  it  stands,  is  am- 
biguous. But  if  the  presence  of  such  a  clause  would 
not  have  contradicted  the  narrative,  it  is  clear  that 
Ananias'  statement  does  not  determine  Saul's  recep- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  have  taken  place  before  his 
baptism.  It  does  not  establish  an  exception  to  the 
divine  order. 

Unless  there  be  some  substantial  proof  that  Ana- 
nias did  what  no  apostle  ever  ventured  to  do,  and 
that  in  the  absence  of  any  reason  for  doing  it,  we 
must  decline  to  find  in  this  narrative  a  breach  of  the 
divinely  appointed  conditions  of  receiving  the  Holy 

Spirit. 

457 


c. 

(See  p.  426) 

A  DISCARDED  PHRASEOLOGY. 


The  apparent  discrepancy  between  this  passage* 
and  his  subsequent  writings  has  usually  been  explained 
by  supposing  that  Mr.  Campbell  afterward  changed 
his  views;  but  this  is  not  necessary.  More  than  once 
during  his  career  he  affirmed  that  he  had  not  always 
"been  equally  felicitous  in  expressing  my  [his]  views 
on  some  litigated  questions,"  and  in  the  Harbinger  in 
1842  he  informs  us  that  this  statement  in  the  McCalla 
debate  was  one  of  these  infelicities.  He  says  (pp. 
148-9)  that,  though  it  was  the  best  he  *'could  think 
of"  at  the  time,  he  had  "never  altogether  liked  the 
phraseology,"  that  "if  properly  defined"  it  was  in 
his  judgment  "admissible";  but  he  had  "seen  it 
much  abused,"  and  he  thought  "perhaps  a  term  less 
liable  to  abuse  might  be  preferred  to  it."  He  avows 
at  this  time  the  same  belief  as  that  held  in  1823,  but 
declares  that  the  language  had  never  been  satisfac- 
tory; and  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  never  afterward 
made  use  of  it.  He  continued  to  speak  of  baptism 
as  ih.Qi  formal  remission  of  sins,  but  was  wont  to  add 
that  this  formal  remission  is  also  an  "actual"  remis- 
sion; that  it  puts  the  subject  into  "actual  possession  of 
remission" ;  that  it  is  a  remission  "in  fact" ;  that  bap- 
tism is  "for  the  true,  real  and  formal  remission  of  sins. " 


*The  passage  reads  in  full:  "Paul's  sins  were  really  pardoned 
when  he  believed,  yet  he  had  no  solemn  pledge  of  the  fact,  no 
formal  acquittal,  no  formal  purgation  of  his  sins  until  he  washed 
them  away  in  the  water  of  baptism." — Richardson's  Memoirs  of 
Alexafider  Campbell,  Vol.  II.,  p.  82. 

458. 


APPENDIX 

The  first  part  of  the  statement,  that  a  man  is  "really 
pardoned"  when  he  believes,  he  never  again  used  in 
his  life.  In  1840,  he  said  in  the  Harbinger ^ih.2ii  a  man 
"was  virtually  [not  actually]  and  in  heart  in  the  new 
covenant  and  entitled  to  [not  in  possession  of]  its 
blessings  when  he  believed  and  repented;  but  not 
formally  nor  in  fact  justified  or  forgiven  till  he  put 
on  Christ  in  baptism."  Here  the  real^  or  actual,  is 
transferred  from  the  side  of  faith  to  that  of  baptism; 
but  this  is  for  the  purpose  of  better  expression,  for 
he  reaffirms  his  former  view  in  this  connection.  In 
the  Campbell  and  Rice  debate,  having  had  twenty 
years  in  which  to  consider  terms  of  statement,  Mr. 
Campbell  plants  himself  upon  the  ground  that  he 
who  believes  has  justification,  or  pardon,  "in  hope, 
in  anticipation,"  "in  grant,  in  right,"  "in  promise, 
in  expectation,"  but  "not  in  actual  possession"  until 
he  is  baptized.  Parallel  with  this  runs  the  statement 
of  the  Christian  System  (p.  232)  that  faith  is  a  "prin- 
ciple of  action"  that  reaches  remission  of  sins  in  the 
obedience  of  baptism,  and  that  of  his  work  on  jBap- 
tism^  that  baptism  is  for  the  remission  of  sins  by 
virtue  of  the  fact  that  in  it  "faith  and  repentance 
are  developed  and  made  fruitful  and  effectual  in  the 
changing  of  our  state  and  spiritual  relations  to  the 
Divine  Persons  whose  names  are  put  upon  us  in  the 
very  act"  (p.  256),  and  that  it  is  to  faith  "thus  per- 
fected" that  "the  promise  of  remission  is  divinely  an- 
nexed" (p.  284).  What  he  says  about  baptism's  be- 
ing "a  sign  and  a  seal"  of  remission,  we  are  not  to 
press  further  than  this  statement  and  that  in  the 
Campbell  and  Rice  debate  will  admit,  for  in  that  de- 
bate Mr.  Campbell  also  affirmed  that  baptism  is  "a 

sign  and  a  seal"  of  remission,  but  explained  that  the 

459 


APPENDIX 

believer  has  remission  only  in  rights  in  promise,  in 
hope,  but  not  in  actual  possession  till  after  his  bap- 
tism. Abraham's  spiritual  relations  to  God  were  not 
changed  by  his  circumcision,  and  he  had  before  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  justified  man,  while  Mr. 
Campbell  always  taught  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  other  privileges  of  the  kingdom  are  to  be 
reached  through  baptism. 

In  keeping  with  the  fact  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  language  in  the  McCalla  debate  is 
the  fact  that  in  his  debate  with  Mr.  Rice,  Mr.  Rice 
quoted  the  passage  referred  to  in  the  McCalla  debate, 
in  both  its  parts,  and,  indorsing  it  fully,  offered  to 
shake  hands  with  Mr.  Campbell  on  it.  That  Mr. 
Rice  was  prepared  to  accept  the  quotation  in  its  en- 
tirety, including  the  part  which  spoke  of  "formal" 
remission,  is  evident  from  avowals  made  earlier  in  the 
debate.  In  speaking  of  union  with  Christ  he  had 
used  the  very  terms  used  by  Mr.  Campbell,  declaring 
that  faith  "unites  to  Christ  really,''  and  baptism 
"connects  us  with  him /orma%"  (p.  465);  and  on 
page  476  he  quotes  from  Calvin  the  statement  that 
baptism  is  a  symbol  of  purification,  or  a  symbolic  pu- 
rification (parallel  to  Mr.  Campbell's  "formal  purga- 
tion") and  then  compares  it  to  a  "legal  instrument 
properly  attested,"  which  assures  us  of  the  remission 
of  our  sins;  and  then  he  (Mr.  Rice)  indorses  this  as 
precisely  his  own  view  (p.  476).  This,  in  a  fair  sense, 
was  just  what  Mr.  Campbell's  "formal  pledge," 
"formal  acquittal,"  "formal  purgation"  might  be 
taken  to  affirm,  and  Mr.  Rice  was  ready  to  stand  on 
this  declaration.  This  was  but  another  instance  in 
which  the  unfortunate  language  of  the  McCalla  de- 

460 


APPENDIX 

bate  was  construed  as  expressing  what  Mr.  Campbell 
did  not  mean. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  Mr.  Campbell  could 
hold  that  a  man  has  remission  of  sins  "in  promise," 
"in  hope,"  "in  grant,"  "in  right,"  when  he  believes, 
and  "in  actual  possession"  when  he  is  baptized,  and 
still  find  expression  of  his  views  in  the  statement 
that  the  sinner  is  '^ really  pai'donecV  when  he  believes 
and  ^^foy^malhf  pardoned  when  he  is  baptized.  If  a 
man  has  anything  by  grant,  by  right,  we  may  easily  say 
it  is  really  his,  though  he  may  not  have  yet  come  into 
possession  of  it;  and  one  might  be  said  to  be  really 
pardoned  in  the  same  sense  at  the  moment  of  believ- 
ing, but  the  language  would  not  be  well-chosen,  and 
would  be  liable  to  convey  the  idea  of  actual  posses- 
sion. A  man  who  had  been  elected  to  the  presidency 
might  be  said  to  be  really  president  in  the  sense  that 
he  had  a  right  to  the  office,  but  the  language  would 
not  be  accurate.  He  is  correctly  called  president  elect 
before  his  inauguration,  and  president — that  is,  with- 
out limitation,  in  actual  possession  of  the  office — after 
his  inauguration.  Again, /ormr??  remission  may  con- 
vey either  one  of  two  different  meanings.  An  act 
may  hQ  formal  and  be  at  the  same  time  real,  or  it  may 
be  merely  formal.  If  the  marriage  ceremony  is  per- 
formed at  a  silver  or  golden  wedding,  it  is  merely  a 
form,  and  leaves  everything  as  it  was  befoi-e;  but  the 
primary  marriage  was  more  than  formal,  establishing 
new  relations  and  conferring  new  rights  and  privi- 
leges. Formal  remission  might  mean  a  mere  formal 
or  symbolic  act  looking  back  to  some  previous  remis- 
sion and  giving  assurance  of  it.  This  was  Mr.  Rice's 
view.  But  it  might  mean  also  the  conveying  of  ac- 
tual  remission,  actual  possession  of  remission,  in  a 

461 


APPENDIX 

formal  manner.  This  was  Mr.  Campbell's  view. 
Thus  the  language  was  ambiguous. 

Mr.  Campbell's  language  in  the  McCalla  debate 
was  unfortunate  in  another  respect.  To  say  that  the 
convert  is  really  pardoned  when  he  believes,  and  for- 
mally  pardoned  when  he  is  baptized,  is  to  imply  that 
the  pardon  he  receives  at  baptism  is  not  real,  or 
actual,  as  Mr.  Campbell  repeatedly  declares  it  to  be. 
Hence  the  language  was  misleading. 

Of  course,  the  position  taken  in  this  book  runs  clear 
of  any  of  these  difficulties  by  finding  in  the  spiritual 
element  in  baptism  a  part  of  that  meaning  which  is 
designated  hy  faith  ;  but  it  would  seem  that,  in  justice 
to  Mr.  Campbell,  we  should  cease  to  use,  as  repre- 
sentative of  his  position,  a  form  of  expression  which 
he  was  not  satisfied  with  from  the  first;  which  he 
ceased  to  use  himself;  which  he  replaced  by  other 
statements  in  the  Christian  System,  in  the  Campbell 
and  Eice  Debate,  and  in  his  work  on  Baptism,  par- 
allel in  import;  which  he  refused  to  stand  by  when 
challenged  to  do  so;  and  which  might  be  fairly  inter- 
preted to  express  his  opponents'  views  quite  as  well 

as  his  own. 

462 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Abraham,  his  faith  as  spoken  of  in 
Gen.  XV.,  its  nature,  169  sq.,  208 
sq. ;  not  mere  belief  of  the  truth, 
208  sq. ;  not  followed  by  repent- 
ance, 209  sq.;   not  self-surrender, 

210  sq.;    not  merely  anticipative, 

211  sq. ;  did  not  arise  in  immedi- 
ate connection  with  self-surren- 
der, 212  sq. ;  not  his  first  trust  in 
God,  212  sq. ;  was  strong  and  em- 
braced the  miraculous,  21J  sq.; 
in  long  perspective,  214  sq. ;  did 
not  have  external  embodiment, 
216  sq. ;  external  embodiment  not 
demanded  at  this  point,  218  sq. ; 
profession  had  already  taken 
place,  219  sq.,  221  sq.;  differences 
between,  and  Christian  faith,  226 
sq. ;  objective  content  of,  226  sq. ; 
emotionally  weaker  than  Christian 
faith,  227;  not  union  with  God,  227 
sq. ;  no  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with, 
22S  sq. ;  Paul's  estimate  of  as 
compared  with  Christian  faith, 
228  sq. ;  correspondence  of  Chris- 
tian faith  with,  406  sq. 

Acceptance  an  element  of  faith  in 
conversion,  174  sq. ;  depends  on  a 
proffer,  189  sq. ;  character  of,  de- 
termined by  the  proffer,  190  sq.; 
how  affected  by  the  divine  proffer, 
191  sq. 

Act,  outward,  baptism  not  a  mere, 
43  sq. ;  a  mere  outward,  nature  of, 
43  sq.;  consequences  of  regarding 
baptism  as  a  mere  outward,  56  sq. 

Act,  the,  what  baptism  should  be, 
not  indifferent  from  a  spiritual 
point  of  view,  96  sq. 

Acts  of  Apostles,  its  use,  347  sq. 

Adjustment,  the  moral,  424  sq. ; 
basis  of  moral  judgments,  424; 
question  not  one  of  injustice,  but 
of  moral  incongruity,  425;  some 
proposed  methods  of,  425  sq. ; 
conditions  of  the  gospel  not  en- 
tirely ethical,  430  sq. ;  the  true, 
432  sq. 

Alford,  Dean,  65,  372. 

Apollos,  his  knowledge  concerning 
Christ,  332  sq. 


Apostleship,  Paul's  call  to,  when  it 
took  place,  372  sq. ;  its  signifi- 
cance, 376  sq. 

Assurance,  Paul's  sense  of,  387  sq. ; 
to  what  referred,  and  when  it 
arose,  387  sq. 

Augustine,  St.,  60. 

Baptism,  as  a  means  of  profession, 
24  sq. ;  a  condition  of  remission, 
27;  not  arbitrary,  30;  more  than 
a  "change  of  state,"  30  sq.;  a 
moral  act,  29  sq.,  31;  its  delay  im- 
moral, 33  sq. ;  answers  to  a  need 
of  the  heart,  36  sq. ;  an  act  of  ex- 
pression, 40;  misplacing,  changes 
its  nature,  41;  not  a  _mero  out- 
ward act,  43  sq. ;  its  spiritual  ele- 
ment a  neglected  question,  45; 
its  increment  of  meaning,  46  sq. ; 
the  spiritual  element  in,  48  sq. ; 
consequences  of  regarding  it  as 
a  mere  outward  act,  56  sq. ;  took 
place  immediately  after  repent- 
ance in  apostolic  age,  31,  57; 
need  of,  similar  to  those  of  mar- 
riage, 58;  a  spiritual-physical  act, 
60;  the  Divine  side  of,  62  sq. ; 
Jesus'  baptism,  63  sq. ;  baptism 
into  Christ,  70  sq. ;  the  larger 
view,  73  sq. ;  Holy  Spirit  be- 
stowed in,  74  sq. ;  as  a  stumbling- 
block,  86  sq. ;  as  a  test-act,  86;  as 
a  revelation,  88  sq. ;  as  a  winnow- 
ing fan,  89  sq. ;  cheapening  of,  91 
sq. ;  solidarity  in,  96  sq. ;  not  a 
mere  legal  condition,  97;  as  a 
measure  of  faith,  99  sq. ;  as  a 
ratifying  act,  111  sq. ;  why  an  an- 
tecedent condition  of  salvation, 
124  sq. ;  status  of  those  dying  be- . 
fore,  135  sq. ;  a  practical  condition 
of  salvation,  149  sq. ;  not  in  place 
of  circumcision,  221  sq. ;  not  a 
seal,  222  sq. :  not  a  putting  on  of 
Christ  formally,  258  sq. ;  a  purely 
spiritual  act  on  the  part  of  the 
candidate,  259;  Peter  places  the 
appropriative  act  in,  260  sq. ;  a 
seeking  for  a  "good  conscience," 
263;  unto  repentance,  273  sq. ; 
John's    baptism,    286    sq.;    unto 


463 


(General  index 


faith,  294;  the  act  of  three  per- 
sons, 259;  embraces  the  appro- 
priative  spiritual  act,  395,  pardon, 
395  sq.,  death  to  sin,  396,  union 
with  Christ,  396;  the  spiritual  and 
physical  elements  of,  joined,  in 
Paul's  language  and  in  his  own 
conversion,  397;  does  baptism 
now  possess  the  spiritual  ele- 
ments described  in  Rom.  vi.  1-7 
and  Gal.  iii.  26,  27?  397;  why  it 
does  not  now  generally  possess 
these  spiritual  elements,  398;  how 
restore  these  spiritual  elements, 
398  sq. ;  should  it  be  repeated  by 
those  not  understanding  its  full 
spiritual  import?  434  sq. 

Baptized  into  Christ,  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  expression,  70  sq. 

Bacon,  Lord,  130. 

Barnes,  Albert,  380. 

Belief,  nature  of,  165  scj. 

Believing  on  Christ,  its  meaning, 
234  sq. ;  derivative  senses,  239 
sq. ;  Paul  places  this  spiritual  act 
in  baptism,  245  sq. ;  Peter  also 
does  so,  260  sq. ;  meaning  of,  ac- 
cording to  Peter,  329  sq. ;  accord- 
ing to  Paul,  331  sq. ;  a  spiritual- 
professional  act,  299. 

Bloomfield's  Com.,  274. 

Born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  77  sq. 

Braden  and  Ilughey  Debate,  410. 

Briggs,  Prof.  Chas.,  374. 

Buttmann,  Grammar  of  N.  T. 
Greek,  234,  311. 

Burial,  baptism  as  a,  answers  to  a 
craving  of  the  heart,  96  sq, 

Cameron,  Prof.  N.  C,  413. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  43,  80,  293; 
his  view  of  the  conditions  of  par- 
don, 426;  his  view  of  faith,  441 
sq.;  a  discarded  phraseology,  457. 

Campbell  on  Baptism,  426,  442,  444, 
446,  458,  461. 

Campbell  and  Rice  Debate,  410,  426, 
458,  459,  461. 

Cheapening  baptism,  91  sq. 

Christ,  being  in,  70;  meaning  of, 
250  sq.;  embraces  the  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  254  sq. ;  bap- 
tism into,  70  sq. ;  putting  on, 
meanmg  of,  256  sq. 

Christian  faith,  its  appearance, 
when,  203  sq. ;  405. 

Christianity,  embraces  two  great 
saving  forces,  149  sq.,  432  sq. 

Christian  System,  441,443,444,458,461. 


Circumcision,  baptism  not  in  place 
of,  221  sq. ;  what  compared  to  in 
Christianity,  225  sq. 

Commission,  the  great,  according 
to  Matthew,  310  sq.;  according  to 
Mark,  313  sq. 

Conditions,  other,  determining  the 
nature  of  faith,  189  sq. 

Confession,  verbal,  24;  mere  verbal 
not  sufficient,  93  sq. 

Conscience,  a  good,  meaning  of, 
262  sq. ;  how  obtained,  263  sq. ; 
seeking  a,  is  faith  in  one  of  its 
aspects,  264  sq. 

Convenient,  baptism  should  not  be, 
94  sq. 

Conversion,  the  modern,  too  exclu- 
sively a  matter  of  sentiment,  28 
sq. ;  must  be  manward  as  v/ell  as 
Godward,  29;  the  moral  element 
in  should  be  more  prominent, 
29;  the  final  spiritual  step  in,  48 
sq. ;  three  mental  steps  in,  48  sq. ; 
the  final  spiritual  step  in,  its  in- 
vestiture, 52;    of  St.  Paul,  347  sq. 

Conybeare  and  Howson,  367,  373. 

Cornelius,  his  faith,  its  genesis,  324 
sq. ;  his  pardon,  152  sq. 

Cost,  counting  the,  necessary  in  con- 
version, 368  sq. ;  repentance  in- 
cludes a,  370  sq. 

Cremer,  Biblio-  Theological  Lexicon, 
77,  164,  170,  242,  283,  284,  291,  302, 
304,  306,  318,  415. 

Crosby,  Greek  Grammar,  311. 

Death  to  sin,  its  meaning,  246  sq. ; 

does  not  take  place  in  repentance, 

247  sq. ;  Paul's,  383. 
Deliberative  understanding,    exer- 
cise of,  necessary  in  conversion, 

368  sq. 
De  Wette,  65. 
Die    before    baptism,    those    who, 

destiny  of,  135  sq. 
Disciples,  making  of,  310  sq. 
Displacement  of  baptism  destroys 

its  utility,  41. 
Divine  side  of  baptism,  the,  62  sq. 
Doctrine,  its  influence  on  practice, 

327  sq. 
D'Ooge,  Prof.  414. 
Drummond,  Prof.  Henry,  55. 
Dynamics,  spiritual,  99  sq. 

Ecce  Homo,  149. 

Eis,    meaning    of    in    Acts    ii.    38, 

authorities  on,  411  sq. 
Ellicott,  Com.  on  Galatians,  243,  257. 
Encyclopedia  Britannica,  60. 


464 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Engagement   in  marriage,   nothing 
in  conversion  corresponding  to, 
197  sq. 
Ethical  and  practical  conditions  of 

remission,  149  sq. 
Ethicalism,   extreme,  its  tendency, 

156. 
Expression,   acts  of,  needed,  37  sq. 
Faith,  salvation  by  strong,  99  sq. ; 
how   strong?    104   sq. ;     the    true 
measure   of,    105;     application  of 
the  measure,  107  sq. ;    time  of  ap- 
plication,  108  sq. ;    strength,  de- 
gree of,  not  a  matter  of  conscious- 
ness,  128  sq, ;    a  practical  condi- 
tion of  salvation,  147  sq. ;  prelim- 
inary considerations  regarding  is 
nature,  159  sq. ;  one  of  its  meanin  ^s 
belief  of  testimony,  164  sq.;  nature 
of  justifying,  169  sq.,  173  sq. ;   jus- 
tifying, is  trust,  169  sq. ;  begins  ii 
an  act  of  the  will,  174  sq. ;    f.  i.i 
Christ  contains  a  moral  element, 
179  sq. ;    f.  in  Christ  follows  re- 
pentance, 183  sq.,  441  sq, ;    f.  in 
Christ  embraces  love,  184  sq. ;    its 
history,  186  sq. ;    not  inconsistent 
with  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
grace,  187  sq. ;    the  acceptance  of 
a  divine  proffer,   189  sq. ;  the  act 
of  union  with  Christ,  191  sq. ;    a 
laying  hold    on    Christ,   193  sq. ; 
self -surrender,  194;    at  what  point 
do  spiritual  laws  place  the  faith  of 
conversion?    195    sq. ;     Christian 
faith  proper  begins  in  union  with 
Christ,   203  sq. ;    Abraham's,    its 
nature,   208  sq. ;    differences  be- 
tween Abraham's  f.  and  Christian 
f.,   226  sq. ;     Paul's    estimate    of 
Abraham  s  f.   as  compared  with 
Christian  f.,  228  sq.;    such  an  act 
demands  physical  investiture,  244 
sq. ;    Paul  places  this  spiritual  act 
■  in  baptism,  245  sq.,   256  sq. ;    so 
does    Peter,   260    sq, ;    Christian 
f.    subsumes    John's   repentance, 
290   sq. ;    during     the    period    of 
Christ's  earthly  ministry,  298  sq. ; 
includes  profession,  300 sq.;    per- 
sonal f.   in   Christ  does  not  pre- 
cede baptism  in  the  commission, 
309  sq. ;    in  the  apostolic  age,  the 
personal  f.  that  obtains  salvation 
does  not  precede  baptism,  319  sq. ; 
the  personal  f,   in  Christ  that  ob- 
tains salvation  embraces  baptism, 
329  sq,;    according  to  Peter,  329 


according  to  Paul, 


sq.; 

Christian   f.  when  it  comes 


ing 
wn 


331  sq.; 
into 
existence,  203  sq.,  405, 

Farrar,   Dean,  374,  455. 

Fasting,  Paul's,  380  sq. 

Feeling,  change  of  in  the  offended, 
not  pardon,  142  sq. 

Flagg,  Prof.,  414. 

Foster,  Prof.,  414. 

Godet's  Co7n.,  251,  313. 

Hackett,  Com.  on  Acts,  335,  351, 
373,  412,  455. 

Hamilton,  Sir  \Vm.,  160  sq.,  162. 

Harkness,  Prof.,  414. 

Harper,  Dr.  Wm.  R,,  415. 

Hodge,  Dr.  Chas.,  26,  185,  274. 

n  ily  Spirit,  outpouring  of  and  bap- 
lism  in  refer  to  same  act,  76sq. ; 
bestowment  of,  part  of  the  trans- 
action of  baptism,  74  sq. ;  a  seal, 
223;  not  in  place  of  circumcision, 
223  sq. ;  indwelling  of,  essential  to 
being  "in  Christ,"  251  sq. ;  be- 
stowed ia  baptism,  255;  bestow- 
ment of,  on  Cornelius,  324  sq. ; 
when  bestowed  on  Paul,  337,449  sq. 

Immoral,  pardon,  when,  3  sq.,  8, 
21,359;  tendency  of  placing  par- 
don before  the  undoing  of  a 
world-wrong,  35. 

Impressiveness  of  the  professing 
act,  importance  of,  120  sq. 

Investiture,  the  divinely  appointed, 
of  the  final  spiritual  step  in  con- 
version, 51  sq. 

Jerome,  note  in  Josephus,  279. 

Jesus,  his  baptism,  63  sq. 

John's,  baptism,  286  sq. ;  repent- 
ance, 277  sq. ;  disciples,  what  they 
lacked  of  Christian  conversion, 
332  sq. 

Justification,  meaning  of,  171. 

Lange,   Com.,  53,  65,  170,   260,  274, 

294,    312,   330,    360,    371,  372,  373, 

412,  417. 
Larger  view,  the,  73  sq. 
Lasher,  Dr.,  409, 
Lechler,  Dr.  G.  V.,  294,  330,  360,  371, 

372,  412. 
Limited  sins,  their  nature,  2. 
Lord's  Day,  the,  what  essential  to, 

272. 
Lord's  Supper,  the,  some  essentials 

to,  267  sq. 
Love,  an  element  of  sa\'ing  faith,  184; 

its  genesis  in  conversion,  184  sq. 


465 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Marriage,  contains  a  mental  act, 
49;  the  mental  and  formal  not 
separated,  in,  57  sq.,  271  sq. ;  the 
union  of,  differs  from  union  with 
Christ,  in  one  important  respect, 
197  sq. 

Martineau,  Seat  of  Authority  in  Re- 
ligion, 449. 

Matthews,  Prof.  Robt.  T.,  413. 

McCosh,  Dr.  James,  424. 

Measure  of  faith,  the  true,  105  sq. ; 
baptism  as  a,  106  sq. ;  the  appli- 
cation of  the,  107  sq. ;  when  ap- 
plied, 108  sq. 

Methodist  Episcopal   Confession,  26. 

Meyer's  Com.,  251,  254,  256,  335,361, 
274,  277,  312,  323,  361,  372,  412,  449. 

Millennial  Harbinger,  437,  457,  458. 

Moral  and  loyal,  how  faith  becomes, 
179  sq. 

Moral,  element  in  faith  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  grace,  187  sq. ;  adjust- 
ment, the.  See  adjustment. 

Nature,  of  justifying  faith,  169  sq. ; 

of  the  faith  of  conversion   as  it 

actually  exists,  186  sq. 
Neander,    Planting  and  Training 

of  the  Christian  Church,  248,  367, 

371. 

Oath,  uses  of  in  courts  of  law, 
111  sq. 

Outward  act,  a  mere,  its  nature,  43 
sq. ;  no  such  act  in  human  agen- 
cy, 44  sq. 

Packard,  Prof.,  413. 

Pardon,  principle  of  divine  govern- 
ment relating  to,  5  sq.;  when  im- 
moral, 3,  8,  8,  21;  Scriptures 
make  baptism  a  condition  of,  27 
sq. ;  the  view  that  it  precedes  pro- 
fession has  an  injurious  influence 
on  our  ideas  of  duty,  34  sq. ; 
granted  by  love,  not  by  justice, 
142  sq. ;  principle  of  in  conver- 
sion and  in  the  Christian  life  the 
same,  154  sq. 

Paul,  his  idea  of  faith,  242  sq. ;  he 
places  this  spiritual  act  in  bap- 
tism, 245  sq. ;  his  conversion,  347 
sq. ;  the  source  of  his  theology, 
348  sq. ;  the  moral  question,  351 
sq. ;  his  baptism  terminated  a 
crime,  358  sq. ;  his  baptism  a 
moral  act,  359;  the  inner  history 
of  his  conversion,  359  sq.;  his 
conviction  compared  with  that  of 


the  Pentecostians,  362  sq. ;  his 
call  to  the  apostleship,  when,  372 
sq. ;  the  other  view,  and  its  bear- 
ings, 376  sq. ;  his  repentance,  381 
sq. ;  his  prayer  and  its  signifi- 
cance, 384  sq. ;  his  death  to  sin, 
383;  his  sense  of  assurance,  when 
it  arose,  387  sq. ;  his  new  sense  of 
power  over  sin,  388  sq. ;  his  sense 
of  union  with  Christ,  390  sq. ;  the 
spiritual  elements  spoken  of  in 
Rom.  vi.  1-7  were  actually  present 
in  his  own  baptism,  395  sq;  when 
he  received  the  Holy  Spirit,  449 
sq. 

Peace,  Paul's,  when  enjoyed,  383. 

Perpetuated  sins,  distinguished 
from  limited,  3;  their  pardon 
when  immoral,  3  sq. ;  limited-per 
petuated,  4;  mental  and  external 
5;  Christ's  teaching  regarding, 
5sq. ;  how  terminated,  4;  differ 
ent  forms  of,  9  sq. ;  did  th j  apos 
ties  ignore  their  character,  14  sq. : 
a  perpetuated  s.  of  a  general  char- 
acter, 18  sq. ;  this  form  of,  termin 
ated  by  profession,  22,  358  sq. 

Peshito,  the,  274. 

Peter,  his  answer  to  inquirers  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  rejected 
from  modern  use,  417  sq. 

Philo,  15. 

Philology,  a  question  in,  46  sq. 

Pistenein  eis,  its  meaning  according 
to  Winer,  229,  304;  according  to 
Thayer,  229;  frequency  of  its  use 
and  its  import,  234  sq. ;  Butt- 
mann  on,  234;  its  meaning  as  de- 
rived from  usage,  234  sq. ;  deriva- 
tive meanings  of,  239  sq. ;  a  par- 
tial sense,  240  sq.,  321  sq.;  Paul's 
use  of  the  phrase,  242  sq. ;  a 
wider  sense,  298  sq. ;  a  spiritual- 
professional  act,  299;  Robinson's 
definition  of,  304;  meaning  of  ac- 
cording to  Peter,  329  sq. ;  accord- 
ing to  Paul,  331  sq. ;  bearings  of 
this  fact,  336  sq. 

Pisfeuein  epi,  meaning  of,  338  sq., 
340  sq. ;  pregnant  in  Scripture 
usage,  341  sq. ;  its  meaning,  how 
determined,  341  sq. ;  ^  bearing  of 
this  meaning  on  Paul's  argument 
on  justification  in  Romans,  344  sq. 

Power,  degree  of,  not  a  matter  of 
consciousness,  125  sq. ;  faith  sub- 
ject to  this  law,  128  sq. 

Practical,   conditions  of    remission 


466 


GENERAL  INDEX 


in  conversion,  150  sq. ;  in  the 
Christian  life,  155  sq. ;  and  ethical 
conditions  of  remission,  149  sq. 

Practice,  apostolic,  31,  57,  326  sq. 

Prayer,  Paul's,  its  significance, 
384  sq. 

Preliminary  considerations  regard- 
ing the  nature  of  faith,  159  sq. 

Pressense,  Early  Years  of  Chris- 
tianity, Apostolic  Era,  372,  380. 

Proctor,  Prof.,  414. 

Prodigal  son,  the,  steps  in  his  con- 
version, 50,  63,  72  sq. 

Proffer,  character  of,  determines  the 
nature  of  an  acceptance,  190  sq. 

Profession,  terminates  a  perpetu- 
ated sin,  22;  requirements  to  be 
met  in,  24  sq. ;  need  of  baptism 
in,  24  sq. ;  as  a  measure  of  faith, 
lOS  sq. ;  during  Christ's  earthly 
ministry,  299  sq. 

Psychology  of  remission,  139  sg. 

Publicity  as  an  element  in  ratifica- 
tion, 119;  its  effect  on  purpose, 
119  sq. 

Purpose,  how  determine  its  strength, 
129  sq. 

Putting  on  Christ,  meaning  of, 
256  sq. 

Ratification,  nature  and  uses  of, 
111  sq. ;  mental  act  in,  112  sq. ; 
need  of,  in  divine-human  cove- 
nant, 118  sq. ;  a  safeguard  against 
dishonesty,  113  sq. ;  against  weak- 
ness of  purpose,  114  sq.;  against 
change,  115  sq. ;  publicity  in,  119 
sq. ;  impressiveness  in,  120  sq. 

Rationalism,  only  a  shallow,  dis- 
counts baptism,  97. 

Re-baptism,  the  teachings  of  this 
book  do   not  necessitate,  434  sq. 

Reconciliation  of  Paul's  and  Peter's 
statements  of  the  conditions  of  sal- 
vation, methods  of,  400  sq. ;  the 
question  really  one  of  reconciling 
these  apostles  with  themselves,  401 
sq. ;  \\iQ  first  method,  402  sq. ;  the 
Petrine  statement,  402  sq. ;  tne  be- 
lief of  the  Pentecostians  does  not 
correspond  with  Abraham's  faith 
that  was  counted  for  righteous- 
ness, 403  sq.;  another  form  of 
faith  in  their  conversion  properly 
called  Christian,  405;  this  form 
corresponds  with  the  justifying 
faith  of  Abraham,  406  sq. ;  the 
second  method,  407  sq. ;  giving 
^is  the  sense  of    "because  of"  in 


Acts  ii.  38,  408  sq. ;  this  sense 
abandoned  in  favor  of  the  sense 
"with  respect  to,"  408  sq. ;  "with 
respect  to"  indefinite,  does  not 
mean  because  of,  and  context  rules 
out  this  sense,  409  sq.;  "with  re- 
spect to"  not  supported  by  best 
scholarship,  410;  another  method, 
410  sq. ;  meaning  of  eis  in  Acts 
ii.  38,  authorities,  411  sq. ;  Peter's 
answer  in  Acts  ii.  38  excluded 
from  modern  use,  417  sq. ;  the 
true  method  of  adjustment,  420 
sq. 

Remission,  psycholygy  of,  139  sq. ; 
not  severance  from  love  and  prac- 
tice of  sin,  139;  not  properly 
change  of  feeling,  142;  does  not 
hinge  on  repentance  alone,  146 
sq. ;  meaning  of  in  New  Testa- 
ment, 153;  practical  conditions 
of,  149  sq. ;  faith  in  Christ  a  id 
baptism  both  practical  nndidons 
of,  150  sq. ;  repentance  the  ethical 
condition,  150  sq. ;  practic.l  c  m- 
ditions  of,  in  Christian  life,  I'^sq. 

Reparation  before  pardon,  a  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  government, 
6sq.,  15. 

Repeated,  should  baptism  be? 
434  sq. 

Repellant,  baptism  should  be  to 
the  unrepentant,  95. 

Repentance,  reparation,  its  nature 
to  make,  10;  must  be  moral  as 
well  as  religious,  12  sq. ;  a  de- 
fective, 8;  when  not  genuine, 
5;  a  hunger  of,  39  sq.;  modern, 
largely  defective,  34;  its  mean- 
ing, 167;  baptism  unto,  273  sq. ; 
does  not  always  have  the  same 
meaning,  276  sq. ;  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes,  277  sq. ;  that  preached 
by  John,  what?  277  sq. ;  its  change 
of  meaning,  289  sq. ;  John's  passed 
into  Christian  faith,  290  sq.;  effect 
of  on  a  wronged  person,  141  sq. ; 
precedes  the  faith  that  justifies, 
183  sq.,  441  sq. ;  how  faith  took 
the  place  of  the  old  repentance, 
291  sq. ;  meaning  of  in  Christian- 
ity, 293;  the  Jewish  not  specific- 
ally a  change  of  purpose,  294;  in 
Christianity,  not  the  turning  act, 
294;  what  it  involves,  364  sq., 
370  sq.;  Paul's,  381  sq. ;  of  the 
Pentecostians,  .^M  sq. 

Repentant,  baptism  should  answer 


467 


GENERAL  INDEX 


the  deeper  cravings  of  the,  95  sq. 

Revelation,  baptism  as  a,  88  sq,,  92. 

Richardson's  Memoirs  of  Alexan- 
der Campbell,  457. 

Robinson's  N.  T.  Greek  Lexicon, 
304. 

San  DAY,  Prof.  Wm.,  249,  250,  256 
sq.,  257,  267,  289,  2>U. 

Schaff,  Philip,  312,  373. 

Seal,  baptism  not  a,  222  sq.;  the 
Holy  Spirit  a,  223  sq. 

Self-deception,  tendency  to,  130  sq. 

Side-lights,  some,  267  sq. 

Singing  and  praying  with  the  spirit, 
273  sq. 

Sin,  death  to,  246  sq. 

Sins,  limited,  2. 

Sins,  perpetuated,  their  nature,  3; 
their  moral  bearing,  3  sq. ;  Christ's 
teaching  regarding,  5  sq. ;  some 
forms  of,  9  sq. ;  their  bearings  on 
conversion,  12  sq. ;  course  of  the 
apostles  regarding,  14  sq. ;  a  per- 
petuated, of  a  general  character, 
18  sq. ;  must  be  undone  by  pro- 
fession, 22;  Christ's  teaching 
regarding  this,  22;  Paul's,  22; 
John's,  23. 

Solidarity  in  baptism,  96  sq. 

Spiritual  laws,  baptism  answers  to  a 
demand  of,  36  sq. 

Spiritual  element  in  baptism,  48  sq.; 
a  double,  74  sq. 

Stevens,  Prof.  Geo.  B.,  77,  155,  239, 
242,  253,  260,  302,  343,  360,  374. 

Stumbling-block,  nature  and  uses 
of,  81  sq. ;  baptism  as  a,  86  sq. 

Surrender,  an  element  of  faith,  194; 
not  the  same  as  the  purpose  to 
surrender,  even  mentally,  204. 

Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  the, 
452. 

Test-act,  nature  of,  85  sq. ;  baptism 
as  a,  86  sq. 


Thayer's  N.  T.  Greek  Lexicon,  65, 
77,  139,  170,  229,  230,  242,  243,  244, 
260,  263,  274,  300,  304,  315,  317, 
339,  414,  415. 

Trench,  Archbishop,  34. 

Trust,  Abraham's  faith  was,  169  sq. ; 
nature  of,  172;  of  conversion, 
must  include  an  act  of  the  will, 
173  sq. ;  of  conversion,  follows 
repentance,  183  sq. 

Tyler,  Prof.,  413. 

Unbelief,  sinful  because  of  the 
moral  element  in  faith,  182. 

Union-forming  spiritual  act,  faith 
in  Christ,  the,  191  sq. 

Union  with  Christ,  Paul  places  in 
baptism,  248  sq. ;  Paul's  sense  of, 
390  sq. ;  due  in  part  to  love,  392 
sq. ;  love  does  not  account  for  it 
fully,  393;  completed  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Spirit,  394; 
in  Paul's  conversion,  took  place 
in  baptism,  396. 

Vulgate,  the,  65. 

Waterland,  on  Justification,  265. 

Westcott  and  Hort,  Greek  Testa- 
ment, 256,  312. 

Whitney,  Prof.  Wm.  D.,  162,  447, 
448. 

Will,  Christian  faith  involves  an  act 
of  the,  173  sq. 

Wilkes,  L.  B.,  Designs  of  Christian 
Baptism,  275,  413. 

Winer,  Grammar  of  N.  T.  Greek, 
184,  229,  230  sq.;  234,  242,  256, 
274,  304,  311,  323,  339,  341,  415. 

Winnowing-f  an,  baptism  as  a,  89  sq. 

Words,  meaning  of  determined  by 
connection,  176  sq. ;  enlargement 
of  meaning  of,  46  sq. ;  new  mean- 
ings of  not  announced,  446  sq. 

Wordsworth,  Wm.,  127. 


468 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


[  References  in  heavy-faced  type  indicate  passages  which  are 
more  fully  discussed.] 


MATTHEW. 

i.  21 261 

iii.  11     273  sq.,  274,  285, 

289,  291,  294,  408, 

410, 411,  415. 

iii.  7-12     ....     288 

6,  8,  14,  358 


V.  22 

V.  24    .     . 
V.  23,  24   . 
vi.  12  .     . 
vi.  14,  15  . 
X.  32    .     . 
X.  41     .     . 
X.  32,  33  . 
xi.  21   .     . 
xii.  41 
xvi.  16     . 
xvi.  19      . 
xviii.  6 
xviii.  6,  7 
xix.  4,  S   . 
xxi.  32      . 
xxiv.  23,  26 
XXV.  31-46 
xxvi.  31-35 
xxviii.  18 
xxviii.  19 


sq. 


15 

31,  357 

.     204 

5,  143 

.     300 

.     415 

.     .     .       22 

277, 278, 285 

.     .     415 

.     .       90 

.     .     416 

,     239,  300 

.     .       19 

.     .     373 

.     .     184 

.     .     316 

.     .     180 

.     .     129 

.     .     334 

33, 310  sq. 


MARK. 

i.  4 291 

i.  10 74 

i.  15  .     .     .     .     184,  295 

xi.  25 5 

xiii.  21     ....     316 

xvi.  16      .     54,  314,  316, 

317,  318,  421 

xvi.  15,  16  .     .     313  sq. 

LUKE, 
ii.  35 88 

ii.  34-36  .     .     82  sq.,  88 

291 

74 

263 

315 


iii.  3  . 
iii.  21  . 
iii.  21,  22 
viii.  40 
X.  13  . 
xi.  4     . 


278 
204 


xii.  8 300 

xiv.  26  ....  235 
xiv.  26,  27  .  134,  291 
xiv.  26-33  .  103, 134,  235 
xiv.  26  sq.  .  .  .  368 
xvii.  4       ....     143 

JOHN. 

i.  12  .   257,  259,  264,  291, 

295,  423,  434 

i.  11,  12  .     .     .     238  sq, 

ii.  23  .     .     .     .     298  sq. 

ii.  23,  24       .     .     301  sq. 

ii.  11       ...     239  sq. 

iii.  5  .  27,77,78,108,255 

iii.  18, 19  .     .     .     .     181 

iii.  22    .     .     .     300,  451 

iii.  36    .     .     24,  237sq., 

241,  257,  295, 

317,  322,  423. 

iv.  1     .     .     300,312,451 

vi.  24 318 

vi.  35  .     .     234 sq.,  257, 

264,  291,  295, 

317,  423,  434. 

vi.  47      .     236,  263,  315, 

317,  318,  312. 

vi.  47-51  ....     26+ 

vi.  57 236 

viii.  30,  31  .  302, 305,  306 
ix.  30,  31,  35,  36      .     305 

ix.  38 305 

ix.  24,  46 .  .  .  .  305 
xi.  45-48  ....  303 
xii.  42  .  241,  300,  301 
xii.  42,  43   ...  107 

xiv.  1 321 

xiv.  16-18   ...  252 

XV 252 

XV.  3-6   ...  .   79 

XV.  5 250 

XV.  5,  6  .  .  .  .  148 

ACTS, 
i.  4,  5  .  .  .  335,  416 

ii 75 

ii.  36  .  .  336,  409,  416 
469 


ii 

37  . 

^ 

409 

ii 

38  .   16, 

n,  53, 75, 

76, 

78, 

153, 

202, 

254,  261 

262, 

264, 

266,  2 

73, 

287, 

290, 

295,  324, 

326, 

330, 

331,  339, 

342, 

351, 

389,  401, 

402, 

407, 

408,  409 

411 

»  413 

sq.,  415, 

417, 

418, 

429,  450. 

ii. 

38,  39  . 

. 

394 

ii. 

41   .  . 

. 

315 

ii. 

44 

315 

,339 

iii 

.  19 

294 

,  295 

iv 

12 

135 

viii. 

. 

74 

viii.  12 

165, 

314, 

315 

316 

viii.  14-17 

. 

451 

viii.  37  . 

, 

16 

ix 

.  372, 

373,  379,  455 

ix 

3-8.  . 

, 

454 

ix 

5,  6.  . 

, 

368 

ix 

6  .   . 

373,  385 

386 

ix 

9  .  . 

. 

380 

ix 

12  .  . 

, 

454 

ix 

17  .  . 

454,  455 

ix 

18  .  . 

449 

454 

ix 

10-18  . 

. 

385 

ix 

17-19  . 

, 

449 

ix 

19  .  . 

381 

ix. 

42  .  . 

. 

339 

X. 

.  .  •  75 

324  sq. 

,452 

X. 

33     .  . 

384 

X. 

43.  171,: 

34,  265, 

266, 

329  s 

q-. 

330, 

331, 

385,  ' 

401 

X. 

44-46  . 

. 

254 

X. 

47  .  . 

. 

325 

X. 

48  .  . 

. 

330 

xi. 

, 

. 

452 

xi. 

13,  14  . 

, 

152 

xi. 

14  .  . 

.  326,  385 

xi. 

1-18  . 

325 

xi. 

18  .  . 

152 

xi. 

20,21 

. 

*3i6sq. 

317 

INDEX   OF   TEXTS 


xiii.  24     ....     291 

XV.  17 311 

xvi.  31     .     338  sq.,  339, 
340,  343,  345 

...       55 


xvi.  33 
xviii.  24 
xix.  2,  3 
xix.  4  . 
xix.  4,  5 
xix.  1-7 


...  291 
...  315 
183,  234,  291 
.  291, 294 
331  sq.,  337, 
387,  453  . 
.  294,  335 
...     379 


xix.  5 
XX.  10 
XX.  14-16  ....     383 

XX.  21 295 

XX.  22 295 

xxii.     .     .   372,  379,  455 

xxii.  10    .     .     .  368, 379 

xxii.  13    ...     .     454 

xxii.  14,  15   .     .     .     372 

xxii.  16  .      27,    65,    66, 

202,  263,  287, 

320,  339,  342, 

350  sq.,  380, 

384,  387,  402 

xxii.  14-16    .       373,  383 


xxii.  19    . 
xxvi.    .     . 
xxvi.  9 
xxvi.  14    . 
xxvi.  16-18, 


xxvi.  17 
xxvi.  20 


.     339 

.     455 

.     361 

.     455 

372  sq., 

373,  379,  380 

.     311 

,  50,  294 


ROMANS. 


ii.  14   . 
ii.  28,  29 
iii.  .     . 
iii.  22  . 
iv.  .     . 

iv.  3    . 
iv.  3,  9 
iv.  5     . 
iv.  5,  23, 
iv.  11  . 
iv.  7,  8 
iv.  12  . 
iv.  18  . 
iv.  20  . 
iv.  18-21 
iv.  23,  24 
iv.  22  . 
iv.  16-25 
V.  5.     . 
vi.    .    . 


24 


.  .  .  311 
...  225 
...  407 
...  337 
214,  218,  229, 
323,  403,  407 
230,  428 
.  428 
171,  344 
334  sq. 
.  222 
.  171 
.  428 
.  170 
.  415 
.  101 
,  323,  345 
.   lOI 

.  214 
263,  327 
245,  390 


102 


vi.  1-7  .  246  sq.,  338,  395 
vi.  2, 3  .  .  226,  245,  254 


vi.  3  , 
vi.  3-6  , 
vi.  2,  6 
vi.  3,  5 

vi.  5  . 

vi.  6 
vi.  6,  7 
vi.  7 


vii.       .     . 
vii.  15  sq, 
vii.  15-25 
viii.  1    .     . 
viii.  1,  2  sq. 
viii.  2  .     . 
viii.  1-9     . 
viii.  1-11   . 


27,  53,  246,  248 
....   27 

....  295 

...  53,  202 

33, 153,  246,  295, 

344,  345,  387,  393 

.  .   389,  396 

.  .   248,  253 

,   253,  322,  384, 

393,  396,  406 

247 


.  147 
.  389 

198,  251 
.  396 
.  253 

380,  388 
251  sq, 


viii.  9  .  .   76, 79, 223, 

252,  253,  396 

viii.  5,  6,  9, 13  .  .  388 

viii.  9,  10   ...   79 


vni.  11 
viii.  12,  13 
viii.  15 
X.  8  . 
X.  9  . 
X.  9,  10 
X.  10  . 
X.  14  . 
X.  17  . 


.  452 
.  251 
.  387 
.  323 
.  324 
22  sq. 

323  sq. 

320  sq. 
.  321 


I.  CORINTHIANS. 

viii.  10-12  ...  19 

viii.  12,  13  .  .  .  35 

X.  16 269 

xi.  24,  25 


xi.  26  . 

xi.  29  . 
xii.  13  . 
xiv.  15 


79,  153, 


269 
269 

271 
255 
273 


II.  CORINTHIANS. 
.  .  75 
•     .     244 


111.  .  . 
V.  21  . 
vii.  10  . 


277 


GALATIANS. 


ii.  16       229,  234,  242  sq. 
257,  264,  336 

ii.  17 258 

ii.  16,  17.  .  .  259,264 
ii.  20  .  .  .  79,  243sq. 
iii.  6     .     .     .      231,  257 

iii.  26 345 

iii.  26,  27     .     27,  33,  53, 

68,   73,  153, 

202,  254, 256 

sq.,  338,  386, 

470 


387,  434,  453 
iii.  27  .  .  27,  33,  53, 
257,  264,  295, 
344,  386,  395, 
407,  421 

iii.  29 257 

iv.  5,  6     .     .     .     .     153 

iv.  6    .    68,  223,  254,  263, 

387,  407.  453 

iv.  19 311 

V.  6 184 

V.  22     .....     390 

EPHESIANS. 

i.  13 223 

iii.  16-19  ....  396 

iv.  5 445 

iv.  30 223 

PHILIPPIANS. 

iii.  8,  9     .     .      243,  423 

COLOSSIANS. 

ii,  10-13    .     .       225  sq. 
ii.  11 225 

TITUS, 

iii.  5  .  27, 67,  76,  77, 255, 
261,  287, 337, 343, 
345,  387, 401,  421, 
428, 453 

HEBREWS. 

xi.8 429 

xi.  8  sq 215 

xi.  16 213 

JAMES. 

ii.  21-23      .     .    216,  427 
ii.  23 227 

ii.  22,  23    ...     .  427 

I.  PETER. 

iii.  21  .  27,  52,  53,  64, 
66,  67,  155, 
202,  260  sq., 
266,  287,  320, 
342,  421 

I.  JOHN. 

i.  9 155, 204 

iii.  i 238 

iv.  15 23 

iv.  19 184 

REVELATION. 

xix.  15     ....    311 


INDEX   OF   TEXTS 


The 

Old 

Tej 

stam 

ent. 

GENESIS. 

ii.  24 

. 

. 

37 

xii. 

. 

. 

'l72 

429 

XV. 

• 

101 
216, 

172, 
217 

211, 

XV.  1 

, 

213 

,215 

XV.  6 

. 

170, 

172, 

208, 

251, 

257, 

427, 

428, 

429 

xxii. 

. 

172 

EXODUS. 

iii.  15 306 

LEVITICUS, 
vi.  1-7       ....       15 

I.  KINGS. 

xxi.  27,  29   .     . ,  280  sq. 

II.  CHRONICLES. 

XXX.  8,  9       .     .     282  sq. 

471 


ISAIAH. 

Iviii.  3, 4.    ...     283 
JOEL. 

ii.  12 283 

ii.  12,  13  .     .     .     .     282 

JONAH. 

iii 281 

JOSHUA. 

xxiv.  2      ....     209 


Date  Due 


JUN3  0 


289t 


